Nachshon
by TamX2
Summary: Xmen HP crossover, with much more emphasis on HP. HBP compatible. The gang is stuck after Dumbly’s death, and McGonagall decides to call in some rather odd friends of Dumbledore. Implied Pairings: HPPP, DMGW, BZHG, RWOC, NLLL.
1. It Begins

Okay...this is my first non-oneshot. So no really mean stuff.

Disclaimer: Uh huh. yeah. I totally own this. Yeah right, if I did, I wouldn't have to be the one to clean my room. I don't own Harry Potter or X-Men. But Nach is mine. So no stealing, unless you are granted permission to use her. Oh yeah, plot if mine too!

First Chappie!- It Begins

"Crucio!"

Thud!

Draco Malfoy fell hard onto the stone floor of Malfoy Manor. He screamed as his body shook with agony. After failing to kill Dumbledore on his own, Voldemort had decided that Malfoy needed to be toughened up by Bellatrix. Narcissa had tried to reason with Bella, but she was determined to make the lesson stick: Always do as the Lord says.

The pain lessoned, and Malfoy shakily raised himself up on his elbows, struggling to find the strength to glare hatefully at Bella. He had come to the conclusion that he hated Snape, Bellatrix, and all the others. But especially his father. His father was a fool, believing that joining Voldemort would give him the power he wanted. Voldemort didn't care about any one, least of all his followers.

Bellatrix Lestrange stared calmly down at the young man on the ground in front of him. The boy had determination, that was clear, but not the power to ever be useful to Voldemort. She thought sarcastically, 'And this is the pride and joy of the Malfoy family?' But then, maybe this wasn't so surprising, seeing what the father was like: weak, egotistical, and power-hungry.

Malfoy painfully pulled himself to his feet, determined to prove his strength to Bellatrix.

"Please stop! Isn't this enough!" Narcissa cried out. She had been forced to watch her son be tortured by her family.

Bella said without looking up, "Narcissa, do shut up." Narcissa clamped her mouth shut and trembled. Malfoy glared balefully at Bellatrix, hating her for her cruelty toward his mother. Malfoy may have hated his father, but never his mother.

"Leave her alone, Bellatrix. She didn't do anything to you." He growled at Bella, fury clear in his voice.

Bellatrix turned to Malfoy and said calmly, "I don't believe I asked your opinion, child. Perhaps the lesson is not quite done. Crucio!"

Malfoy screamed and thought loosely, 'She's gonna keep this up until I die.'

He felt himself letting go, then suddenly, he heard someone yelling in his head, **"What are you, stupid! Don't prove this bitch right!"** Malfoy made one final effort, then let go and fell into darkness.

Bellatrix blinked when Draco suddenly opened his eyes and stared at her calmly, then, with a quiet pop, he Disapparated. Bellatrix clenched her jaw angrily, glared at the floor where Malfoy once was, and turned on her heel and stormed away.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione Apparated to Godric's Hollow at nine-thirty at night. They looked around carefully and hesitantly started toward the cemetery to go see Harry's parents.

When they reached the graves, Harry crouched down and stared at the writing on the stones. He took a deep breath and thought about what he wanted to say, but all that he could think of was that he had this nagging feeling that someone needed his help. Ron and Hermione shifted uneasily, feeling anxious about the trip. McGonagall had forbidden them from going anywhere but 12 Grimmauld Place, Hogwarts, or the Weasley's.

Harry reached out and gently touched the engravings, then whispered, "Thanks," and got up and turned to his friends. "Well, let's get back to Hogwarts," he said softly. Ron and Hermione nodded and the three Disapparated.

The three appeared at Hogsmeade and swiftly started up towards Hogwarts. Suddenly, there was a pop in front of them and they saw a figure crumble to the ground. They ran over and turned the still form over.

"Malfoy?" Ron blurted out. Malfoy lay still and silent, blood staining through his shirt and bruises on his face. Ron snorted and moved to go, but Harry stopped him.

"We need to take him with us." Ron stared at Harry in shock, and moved to protest. But Hermione briskly nodded and took out her wand.

"Mobilicorpus." The three trotted back to Hogwarts, the body floating in front of them.

Madame Pomfrey looked at the still boy critically. After being surprised by Harry and Hermione dashing in with Malfoy in tow, she had quickly gotten down to business, healing bruises and cuts and prescribing potions against the pain. Finished, she knew the only thing that they could do was wait for him to wake up.

She strode out to see Harry, Ron, Hermione, and McGonagall clustered together, waiting for her diagnosis. She listed briskly, "Torture, beatings, starvation, and exhaustion. He'll be out for a few hours at least."

Ron burst out, "Torture! Why would they torture him? He's a Death Eater!"

Harry said thoughtfully, "Or at least he was. Maybe he rebelled and they decided that he had to be re-educated." He had recently read 1984 and other books on Communism and other societies and understood more about brainwashing and threats.

Hermione nodded, she too had read 1984. McGonagall frowned, her brow furrowing. She said, "What will we do with him? Obviously we can't just give him back. But can we trust him?"

Harry thought and shrugged. "We'll find out when he wakes up. Should we give him Veritaserum?" McGonagall glanced at him, and nodded thoughtfully. She thought, 'Yes, but…what if…?' She turned and started towards Dumbledore's office, now hers. She called over her shoulder, "Potter, Granger, Weasley, come with me. Pomfrey, please stay with Malfoy." The three followed her while Pomfrey returned to her patient.

Up in Dumbledore's office, the three sat in chairs while McGonagall searched Dumbledore's desk. They glanced at each other, confused, while she muttered softly.

Hermione asked hesitantly, "Professor? What is it?" McGonagall motioned for her to wait, and continued her search.

"Ah! Here it is." McGonagall held up a paper with writing. The three perked up and looked questioningly at her. She looked at them and explained patiently, "Albus had some friends who might be able to help us. With the war." Harry stood up and asked confusedly, "Why haven't they been helping before?"

McGonagall sighed. "Because Albus didn't want them to be part of it, since he didn't think that it was their war to fight." The Trio stared at her. She continued impatiently, 'They aren't wizards. They're…different. Good people, but a wee bit odd. But Albus liked them, and I think that they might be willing to help us. We'll just wait until Malfoy is awake, then call." Harry nodded, and the group headed back to the Infirmary to meet with the rest of the teachers to talk about strategy.

Malfoy blinked slowly, regaining consciousness. The babble around him stopped, and he opened his eyes fully, preparing himself for his mother, or, better yet, Bellatrix. Instead, he got a different kind of shock.

"Huh? Where the hell am I?"

Pomfrey explained patiently, "Back at Hogwarts, dear. These three," she gestured towards Harry, Ron, and Hermione, "found you at Hogsmeade and dragged you here." Malfoy nodded stupidly, feeling dazed.

McGonagall asked sharply, "Well? Why did you go to Hogsmeade?"

Malfoy answered truthfully, "To get away from Voldemort and the others. I didn't want to be with murderers." McGonagall looked at him, and nodded.

"Well then. I suppose you're with us then." Malfoy blinked, thought about it, then nodded sensibly, "I suppose I am."

Harry stared at Malfoy. Malfoy was never this sensible. He spent far too much time being as rude and stubborn as possible. Harry amended his thought, 'well, at least before he had to grow up and learn what being a Death Eater really was.'

McGonagall said, "Then, I might as well make the call." She took out her wand and glanced at the instructions on her paper. Frowning, she put her wand back. She read the instructions again, then turned to Hermione. "Miss Granger, do you understand this at all?"

Hermione took the paper, read it, and grinned. "It's a telephone number." Ron blinked, shocked. These friends were Muggles? Odd…

Hermione continued, "There's also a name…Professor Xavier?" McGonagall nodded, and asked, "What are we supposed to do?" Hermione read the paper over again.

"I suppose you're supposed to say the number in your mind…but that doesn't make sense."

McGonagall said swiftly, "It doesn't matter, just say the number." Hermione dutifully recited the number, and the group waited impatiently. Malfoy raised a brow and looked around, baffled. The Trio glanced at each other. Mcgonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, and the other teachers shifted.

Trelawney said dramatically, "I suppose it was a fake. You could have asked me, and I could have told you it wasn't real."

Suddenly, with a silent poof, a girl appeared by the door. "Hey guys! What's up?" McGonagall smiled warmly and welcomed the girl as everyone else stared in shock. Where'd she come from?

Glancing around, the girl said cheerfully, "It's really late back at the school, so I was the only one awake. I just got back from my trip. If you'd like I can get the professor…"

Minerva said quickly, "Oh no Nach, that's fine. We just wanted to ask the school for help."

The girl perked up and asked, "Help? With what?"

Ron interrupted rudely, "With what! With the war against You-Know-Who! How can you not know? And how'd you get here?" he was going to continue, but the girl looked at him, and raised one eye-brow. She cocked her head, shrugged, and turned to McGonagall.

"What's this moron going on about?" As Ron opened his mouth hotly, McGonagall cut in.

"Stop it Nach, you're not helping. I'll just introduce you all. Potter, Granger, Weasley, this is Sasha, but we call her Nach. This is Malfoy, and I think you've seen Flitwick, Sprout and Trelawney before."

Hermione asked curiously, "Why are you called Nach? And where are you from?"

Nach grinned and said happily, "Nach is just a nickname, I can explain another time. My school's from the U.S." Hermione's eyes widened. How did she get here so fast?

Almost like she was reading Hermione's mind, Nach said cheerfully, "My school's for Gifted Youngsters, but you can just call us Mutants! I do loads of stuff with my mind, like telepathy, teleporting, telekinetic things, and a whole buncha other stuff."

Having said this, Nach turned to McGonagall and said, "So, you want help in a war? I'll tell the Professor about it in the morning, okay? Logan's not at the school right now, some trip or something, and Scott went with him." With a grin she added, "I'll be seeing y'all tomorrow, so take two and call me in the morning!" With that, she disappeared with a poof.

Ron, Harry, and Malfoy asked in unison, "What was that all about!" They looked at each other, made a face, and turned to McGonagall for explanation.

McGonagall sighed, and prepared to explain all when Hermione gave a strained giggle. Everyone turned to Hermione to see her bright red, trying not to laugh hysterically. Harry raised an eyebrow, and Hermione burst out laughing. Sprout, Flitwick, and Trelawney shrugged and said their goodbyes, leaving the Infirmary.

McGonagall continued, struggling to keep the smile off her face as Hermione continued to laugh. "Albus was close friends with a man in the U.S. who is head of a school. Not a wizardry school, but one for children and teenagers who have special abilities. They're commonly called Mutants, because one of their genes has a mutation that they receive from the father's side. There are many different abilities, like walking on water, controlling fire, creating ice, walking through walls, telepathy, teleportation, things like that. The head professor is a man who has telepathy. He uses it to discover Mutants and to bring them to the school. That's the basic idea."

Ron asked curiously, "But what was the part about taking two and calling her in the morning?"

Hermione answered, "That was why I was laughing. In the Muggle world, potions are called medicines. Medicines can be in liquid or solid form, and the solid ones are called pills. The idea is that doctors or mediwizards for us, commonly say to take two pills and call them in the morning to say if the person is feeling better or not. Nach was just playing around with that."

The boys looked at each other and shrugged. McGonagall took back control by saying, "Well, it's late, and you all should get to bed. Potter, Weasley, it would be kind of you to lead Malfoy to your rooms and to lend him some clothes." Ron looked like he was going to protest, but Harry kicked him, shutting him up.

Harry turned to Malfoy, "Come on then." He led Malfoy down the hall to where they were staying, Ron following. Hermione went off in her own direction to her room.

When the boys arrived, Ron went over to his bed and sat down on it, watching Malfoy warily. Malfoy asked Harry, "So we're all staying together then?"

Harry nodded. "You can use that bed Malfoy."

Malfoy corrected him. "Draco."

"What?"

"Draco. My father's name is Malfoy, and I doubt that he'll be willing to claim me as his son, so therefore I'm Draco."

Harry looked at Draco, and asked politely, "Don't you hate me?"

Draco thought about it, and said slowly. "Not really…I don't even really know you very well. I guess I was just being stupid before and didn't understand that."

Harry stared at Draco, poleaxed. Draco Malfoy being reasonable? He had changed a lot. "I guess I'm Harry then, Draco."

Ron piped in. "And that makes me Ron." Draco looked at both of them, and grinned, shocking Harry and Ron. They saw Draco's real smile for the first time.

Wheee! I did it! I finally put this story up! Yay! Please read and review, but no flames! Ciao y'alls!

Tam


	2. Meet the Mutants

Hey y'alls! Chapter two up! I'll probably update more this week, since I'm going away next week and all, and we don't know if there's wireless there. -sob- Oh well, I'll just write during those weeks. Wheee! Oh yeah, and for your information, yes, I am a Ron-hater. He's a jerk!

Disclaimer: meh. You don't really think I'm able to create these people? Geez. I only own Nach! And this awesome plot! (And the theories, but those come later...) heh I also own the fact that John/ Pyro and Nach are sibs, I'm taking some liberties with people's histories, since I don't know them- I only watch the movies. I've created an entire history for Nach and her lovely family, so don't worry!

Chapter two: Meet the Mutants

The next morning, the three boys dressed and trooped down to the Great Hall, followed by Hermione. Instead of all the tables, there was only one table set up for all the residents. They joined McGonagall, Trelawney, Flitwick, Sprout, and Hagrid at the table.

Harry ate slowly, but felt that his question had to be answered. He asked politely, "Professor?" All of the teachers turned to look at him. Ron and Draco sniggered. Harry flushed and specified, "I'm sorry, I meant Professor McGonagall." She inclined her head toward him. "I, well, how did Dumbledore know those people? And how do you know Nach?"

McGonagall opened her mouth to tell him to mind his own business, when she realized that all the other occupants of the table were listening closely. She closed her mouth and sighed.

"Well, Potter, I suppose you'd find out eventually, so I might as well tell you. Albus helped to train Professor Xavier in his powers, as Albus was, how should I say it? Well, Albus also carried the natural, unlearned ability to control what people thought or said, like Xavier. So Albus got to know Xavier and when he learned of the school to protect Mutants that Xavier was starting, he was very pleased. Sasha, or Nach as she is called, is a student there, one of the most powerful. Her abilities rival even Albus' or Xavier's." Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. McGonagall continued irritably, "Well, it's not just anyone who's able to teleport or Apparate across the Atlantic Ocean! Even Albus couldn't do it! And she does it without losing any of her immense strength."

Draco asked curiously, "But surely she must have had to train for years! She must have been going to this school since she was just a toddler!"

McGonagall shook her head. "How old are you, Malfoy? Sixteen?" At his nod she continued. "Well, that's about the age that Nach first went to Xavier's school. That was about four years ago. So she's twenty now, along with John, Bobby, and Marie. Those three are also masters of their powers. There are others who are older, and many younger students. They don't all arrive at once, like the Hogwarts students, instead, a child can be five years old and go to the school, others first come at sixteen, like Nach, and others who are even older."

Hermione asked curiously, "But what about their abilities, wouldn't those cause problems for those who are older?" The boys all nodded, and Hagrid nodded as well.

McGonagall continued, "Their abilities are different from ours. Mutant abilities are there the entire time, but only emerge when the individual is under a lot of stress or emotional turbulence." At Ron's baffled expression, Hermione translated into smaller words for the less intelligent boy. "She means when someone has a strong emotional experience, like someone dying or getting kissed. Right?" Hermione looked to McGonagall for clarification. McGonagall nodded approvingly.

Draco said quietly, "Professor, you didn't answer Pottyhe- er, Harry's last question. How do you know Nach?"

McGonagall looked down the table at him in surprise. "Well! I thought it would have been obvious! With Nach's powers being so great, she would have had to been taught by the very best!" At everyone's confused looks, she finished briskly, "Nach would come to Hogwarts during the summers. Since all the teachers and students have gone home then, she was able to hone her abilities without harming anyone. Albus and I would remain to ensure that she didn't get into too much trouble. Of course," McGonagall smiled at Hagrid, "Nach also knows Hagrid."

Harry turned to Hagrid in shock. "Hagrid! But Hagrid, you never told me about Nach!" Hagrid looked at Harry, nonplussed.

"O'course not, 'Arry! The gel asked me nowt t' talk abou' her to anybody exceptin' Dumbledore an' McGonagall. I wasn' abou' t'betray 'er trust like that!"

Harry and Ron said together, "But you tell us about everything else!"

Draco said calmly to the two outraged boys, "Well, this time he didn't."

"Of course," This Draco directed toward Hagrid, "You probably forgot about her when she went back to America each year, right?" Harry, Ron, and Hermione opened their mouths in outrage, the Professors looked at Draco in horror at his rudeness, but Hagrid smiled thoughtfully.

"Y'know, Malfoy, yer prob'ly on t'something. She did mention tha' I would na' remember her anyway. She prob'ly blocked my mem'ry or somethin'. Didn't want me slippin' up." Draco nodded, as he hadn't meant any insult by his words, he was actually curious.

McGonagall sniffed and said, "Anyway, Nach told us to call her when we want her. Knowing her, she probably has all the people who are coming picked out already and is waiting for us. Miss Granger, would you be so kind as to call her again?" Hermione looked up, startled, then nodded. McGonagall continued, "After breakfast we will accompany you into the Great Hall. There you will call them, and then we will discuss what to do."

Ron muttered to Harry, "How do we know we can trust Malfoy? I mean, it could be a trick!"

Hermione glared at Ron. "McGonagall trusts Draco, Ronald, because Nach would have said something if he wasn't trustworthy! Nach at least seems intelligent enough to know! Besides, Dumbledore trusted him, right Harry?" She looked at Harry.

Harry nodded. "From what I saw the…night that…Dumbledore died, Draco had no intention of killing Dumbledore. He lowered his wand before Snape came in and killed Dumbledore." Ron sighed and gave up.

Draco thought, eating his breakfast slowly. Weasel, no, Ron probably was talking about he was untrustworthy, Hermione was probably defending him, but what about Harry? Harry had been friendly enough towards him, even though he had suspected him of being a Death Eater all last school year and had followed him around the school. Who knows? Draco shrugged inwardly and reapplied himself to his breakfast.

After breakfast was finished and the tables cleared magically, the group went into the Great Hall. Hermione glanced at McGonagall, then recited the number dutifully. After a few moments, a puff of blue smoke appeared, with a blue man looked around curiously. He said, in accented English, "Is this Hogwarts?" McGonagall nodded, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"See, I told you so!" Nach appeared next to him, grinning up at him. The odd blue man, who, Draco realized, had a tail, claws, and tattoos, as well as bright yellow eyes, smiled shyly and said, "I should trust you more, Sasha. Where are the others?" Nach blinked at him, then laughed.

"Oh, the rest? I left them back at the school, I wanted to make sure that everything was okay before I brought them all, I'll go get them right now!" With a salute to McGonagall, Nach disappeared again.

The blue man turned to the spectators and bowed awkwardly. "I am sorry," he apologized softly, "Sasha will bring the others momentarily. You may call me Nightcrawler." McGonagall nodded politely.

Hermione asked curiously, "Mr. Nightcrawler, what are your powers?" The man looked at her in shock and blinked.

He recovered well and said politely, "I am a teleporter. Nach has said that to you I Apparate, but without the training like you must have. That is my power, I just happen to have these features as a side effect of being a mutant teleporter." He gestured to his tail and skin.

At that moment, a group of people appeared from nowhere, Nach and a man in a wheelchair in the front. Nach grinned and waved at the group of stunned spectators.

"Told you I'd bring 'em!" She said triumphantly.

Hermione gasped out, "But you're not holding on to them!"

Nach shrugged and said, "I don't have to. They exist, therefore I can move them!"

A wry voice came from behind Nach, "While you delight in explaining your powers, I would appreciate it if we could be introduced to your friends."

Nach blushed and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry Logan, I forgot." The petite, brown-haired girl stepped to the side, revealing a tall man who had a wolfish look to him, a young woman with a white streak through her dark hair, a blond boy, a man with dark glasses on, and a woman with white hair and tan skin, along with a boy with light brown hair and blue-green eyes. Nach cheerfully said, gesturing to the people in order of description, "This is Logan, Marie, Bobby, Scott, Ororo, and John. Their aliases are Wolverine, Rogue, Iceman, Cyclops, Storm, and Pyro. And this," gesturing to the man in the wheelchair beside her, she said, "Is Professor Charles Xavier."

Draco and the trio stared at the man, surprised. They had all expected to see a man who looked like Dumbledore: tall, white hair, and blue eyes. This man was sitting in the wheelchair, was bald, and looked altogether different from Dumbledore.

The man looked at them all and said calmly, "Not all respected professors look like my dear friend did, children." He nodded to them and turned to Nach. "Sasha, John, do you want to go down to the tomb?" The two nodded quietly and left. As they walked out the front doors, Draco noted that the two looked very alike. 'Probably siblings,' he thought.

"You are correct, Mr. Draco Malfoy." Draco jumped and looked at Xavier. "Sasha and John are siblings. Twins actually. Interesting fact, isn't it?" Draco looked at him, stunned, and nodded. "The two of them were very close to Albus, and were very saddened when they learned of his death."

Finishing his discourse, Xavier turned to McGonagall and said politely, "Sasha said something about a war. So it has begun?" McGonagall nodded sadly. Xavier continued, "We will help you. Now if your students could show mine to their rooms?" McGonagall nodded decisively and turned to the Trio and Draco.

"The boys will all stay together, as will the girls. The adults," here she nodded to Ororo, Scott, Logan, and Nightcrawler, "will stay in separate rooms. Professor Xavier will stay in his own rooms." At her nod, Harry stepped forward and jerked his head toward Bobby, "Come on then. Your friend will catch up?" Bobby nodded.

Hermione smiled at Marie, "Nice to meet you. I believe we'll be staying together?" Marie nodded and smiled back. Hermione suddenly said, "Oh! What about Nach? How will she find us?"

Marie grinned wryly. "No worries, she'll find us whether or not we want her to. She'll direct John too." She turned to Bobby and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "See ya 'round, Bobby." He grinned cheerfully at her. Draco thought, 'well, those two at least are dating…'

The groups had just made it to the rooms, settled down, and were headed back to the Great Hall when they heard Nach yelling, "McGonagall! We've got visitors!"

The boys and girls looked at each other and ran down the stairs. They reached the Hall to see Nach and John standing there waiting. McGonagall hurried over to her.

"Where? Do they mean us harm?" she said quickly.

Nach shook her head. "Two are coming from Hogsmeade, another is coming up to the entrance of Hogwarts from the train. They don't mean any harm. Actually, I think they want to help us. At least, one or two of them does."

Xavier said calmly to Nach, "Their names?"

Nach grinned and saluted smartly. "Sir! The ones from Hogsmeade are Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson. The one from the gates is his sister," she pointed to Ron, "and, boy, is she pissed!" Here Nach grinned happily.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione gaped at Nach. Ron and Harry sputtered, "Ginny! What's she doing here? She's supposed to be at the Burrow!"

Hermione said curiously, "How do you do that? Know their names?"

Nach said cheerfully, "People's names are easy to get, you just have to 'touch' minds with them, and you can get their names. It's not hard. 'Course, it is harder for those who do Occlumency, 'cause that's invading, not being allowed, like I am."

Draco asked, "What do you mean, 'allowed'? How can someone allow you to come into their heads?"

Nach answered easily, "Occlumency forces a person to let oneself into their heads. Me, I'm not going for their memories or anything like that. I just want to know names and if they mean harm to the people I'm supposed to protect. They can't hide that from me."

John said sarcastically, "It's not like they can hide anything from you anyway, even if they tried." Draco and Hermione looked at John curiously. He continued, "Her power overwhelms the mind's natural borders. If she wants to get in, she's gonna get in, no matter what you do to keep her out."

McGonagall said testily, "I know this is all very interesting, but we need to do something about Zabini, Parkinson, and Miss Weasley. Should we just let them in?"

Nach sighed. "Don't worry about it. I'll go get Ginny, and then I'll go talk to Blaise and Pansy, kays?" Xavier nodded, and gave his permission.

When Nach disappeared, Harry asked Draco, "Would Zabini and Parkinson possibly be interested in going against Voldemort?"

Draco shrugged. "Blaise probably wants to join our side, since he isn't interested in being an Eater and doesn't have any connections to Voldemort. Pansy…I don't know. She's never said anything about wanting to be a Death Eater. Personally, I don't think she'd be any good at it. Too squeamish."

Ron quipped, "What about you, Draco? Why are you interested in being on our side?" Hermione kicked him. "Ow! I was just curious!"

Draco said quietly, "I thought I wanted to be one, but then I realized the stupidity of it. It's obvious that Voldemort won't win. I mean, every "bad" guy in history eventually gets his arse kicked, so why wouldn't that happen to Voldemort? Besides, the guy's a giant reptile, put him in a freezer and he's doomed." Harry snorted, holding in laughter. He never knew Draco had a sense of humor!

Tada! That's all for now, folks! Sorry for the delay! You'll see Ginny, Pansy, and Blaise soon, no worries, and then the story has most of it's characters and can take off! I just need a few more adults, The Order of the Phoenix, and then we are completely ready for battle! Yay! I'm excited! The real fun can come soon!

Oh yeah, the talk about theories in the first author's note will be explained soon! I promise! Yay!

Oh yes, LIBAKA! Thank you for being my beta! It makes me glad inside! My good buddy! -happy hugs all around-

Have a nice day and SMILE!

Tam


	3. Gather

Hey y'alls! Chappie three up! I'm going on vacation soon, so I might not be able to update for a couple of weeks, but I will continue to write! I promise! So yeah, I'm happy!

Disclaimer: I no own. I'm not J.K. Rowling. Buuuuttt! I own Nach and the insanity, as well as the plot and fun little theoy thingies. If y'alls don't understand something, just tell me and I'll explain it in the next chappie.

Chapter 3: Gather

Ginny stormed up the path to Hogwarts, not bothering to try to get a Thestral to take her. It didn't matter, she had made all of her belongings feather-light back at her house, as well as Shrunk them, so she didn't have any problems with her stuff. (A/N I wish I could do that!)

"How could they! Just because I'm a little younger doesn't mean I can't deal with the same things they go through! I'm just as strong! And Harry! Boy, is he going to get it! I can't BELIEVE Mum and Dad wouldn't tell me where they all were. Why did I have to find out from Bill! ARGH! All he said was to be sure to be back on time for the wedding! Whatever!" She continued up the path, growling and swearing under her breath, when suddenly…

"Sweet, I love when people are pissed." Ginny screamed out loud and whirled around to stare at the girl walking slightly behind her.

"Who are you? What do you want!" Ginny pulled out her wand and pointed it at the strange, petite girl.

"Geez. Sorry…I didn't mean to frighten you. I was just commenting…" Here the girl's voice trailed off as Ginny continued to point her wand at the girl.

The girl rolled her eyes and lowered her hands. "This is ridiculous, why the hell did McGonagall have _me_ go out here to get you without someone you know? How dumb. Now you think I'm some bloody Death Eater!"

Ginny said quickly, "So you're a Death Eater?" She kept pointing her wand at the girl.

The girl stared at her nonplussed. Then she threw up her hands and sighed. "Whatever. Think what you like, Ginny. I'll just ask you this: Are you going to put a Bat-Bogey hex on Harry and Ron?"

Ginny shrieked in terror, "How the bloody hell do you know my name! And why are you asking me this! Of course I'm gonna beat Harry and Ron up! Ah! Why am I telling you this? Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

Bonk! Whack! Whack! Whack!

Ginny stared silently at the girl who had suddenly started hitting herself on the head with her fist. Ginny slowly lowered her wand. If this girl was a Death Eater, the Dark Lord had definitely lowered his requirements. So, if she wasn't a Death Eater, who was she?

Ginny stepped forward and gently tapped the girl's arm. The girl stopped hitting herself and looked at Ginny. Then she sighed and held out her hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Nach. The Trio and McGonagall are at Hogwarts. So yeah, I'm on the same side I guess. Sorry about freaking out like that. I forget that not everyone is on the same wavelength as me. Literally."

Ginny took the offered hand and shook it, saying, "It's alright, my family's weird, so I'm used to random acts of insanity. I'm Ginny Weasley, but I guess you already know that. So they're all at the castle, huh? Is it alright for me to go there?"

Nach grinned widely. "Sure! That's what I was really coming done here for anyway, since I knew you were coming. If you'd like, I can make this a very quick trip. BUT! Can you please hex Harry and Ron?"

Ginny remembered her anger and said, "I sure will! What were they thinking, leaving me out like that! I mean, come on! I'm just as good, maybe better at hexes and curses as Ron! Hey, hold on, why do you want me to hex them?"

Nach rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Heh. Well…I guess it's because I like when people get beat up for something they deserve. And I just like seeing people use magic…"

Ginny blinked. "You can't do magic?"

Nach shook her head cheerfully. "Not in the same way you can. Hey, can we go up there now? They're waiting for us, and I have to go greet some other visitors..."

Ginny nodded. Nach reached out her hand saying, "You got all your stuff?" Ginny nodded again and took Nach's hand.

Ginny blinked and looked around. When did they get to the Entrance Hall? And how did Nach Apparate on school grounds? Ginny looked at Nach, and asked bluntly, "How the hell did you do that?"

Nach laughed. "It's a little talent I've got. Hey look! It's your buddies now!" She pointed to Harry and Ron, who started and looked a little worried. Ginny narrowed her eyes and took out her wand, swiftly casting the Bat-bogey hex on the two hapless boys. Nach immediately cracked up and sat down from laughing. Harry and Ron flailed wildly, shocked at Ginny's swiftness. Hermione tried to hide to a smile, but failed miserably. McGonagall sighed and rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on already. Hagrid turned his face away, not even trying to hide the grin that spread across his hairy face. John, Bobby, and Marie laughed. Logan smirked, already knowing that he was going to enjoy watching these nutcases. Scott and Ororo shook their heads. Xavier's face was unreadable, watching the unhappy boys and the red-head who was now bawling them out, throwing insults and spells around like water.

As this scene went on, Draco stared in shock. Why the hell was the Weaselette hexing her boyfriend and her brother? He blinked, completely baffled. He also wondered, 'And why do I know that Harry's her boyfriend? Hold, on, why do I even care? How strange…' He jumped when the angry girl suddenly whirled, pointed at him, and yelled, "And what the hell is this guy doing here? And who ARE all these people!" At this Nach started to laugh harder, tears streaming down her face.

Ginny turned to Nach and stormed over. She pulled up the laughing girl and said calmly, "Are you hiding something from me, Miss Nach?"

The girl shook her head weakly, still laughing. She wheezed out in between laughs, "I would've warned you if you asked, but you were pissed so I thought it would be better if you simply let it out, with the guys as targets. Sorry…but you have to admit, it was pretty funny, seeing The Amazing Boy Who Lived and his boy sidekick get their asses kicked by someone other than Mr. Very-Dead." Nach stood up completely, and Ginny released her.

Ginny asked, "Mr. Very-Dead?"

Nach grinned. "My little nickname for old Voldie. You can use it too, if you like."

Ginny gazed at Nach, then said, "I think I like you already." Nach grinned even wider. Ginny continued, "Friends, then? And accomplices against morons?" Nach immediately seized her hand and shook it happily.

John and Bobby hugged each other in mock fear. "We're doomed." Logan chuckled and nodded.

Scott muttered, "Morons."

"AH!" Everyone turned to Nach, who smacked herself on the forehead. "I forgot about Blaise and Pansy! Bye guys, I'm off!" And with that, she disappeared, off to fetch the two Slytherins.

Location Jump! (A/N I thought this might help those who are baffled...heh)

"Blaise."

"What?"

"How are we going to get them to let us in? I mean, we all know McGonagall hates Slytherins, and Snape's not there to support us anymore."

"I dunno, Pansy. We can just hope that they won't kill us on the spot."

"Huh. Well you needn't worry about that. I can assure you they won't hurt you. They're a little busy right now with an angry red-head on the loose."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Blaise and Pansy yelled and pulled out their wands, pointing them at a young woman who had walked up behind them.

"Why does everyone always do that?" The girl asked, perplexed. She rubbed her ears in vexation… "Whatever. HI. Nice to meet you. I'm Nach. Do you mean harm to HP and the gang?"

Pansy stared at the girl, speechless. Blaise recovered first and spoke up. "Er. No…are you a friend of them or something?"

The girl nodded cheerfully. "Yup! You sure caught on quicker than the last one. Or maybe because I explained myself quicker…" The girl thought about it, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

Blaise said politely, as Pansy was still in shock, "Nice to meet you I suppose, I'm Blaise Zabini. This is Pansy Parkinson."

The girl waved her hand carelessly. "Oh, don't worry about that. I already know your names. And as you obviously aren't interested in hurting the Trio and co, so come on then. Let's go up to the castle. I suppose we can walk, since I'm not in a hurry anymore. Or would you like to make it a quick trip?"

Blaise winced. He hated talking to people, but since Pansy was no help he felt that he should take the responsibility. "Er, hold on a second, please. If I could speak with my friend here?" The girl, or rather, Nach, grinned and strode off a ways to give the pair some privacy.

Pansy looked at Blaise. She knew he hated talking to other people, well, except for her and Draco, he didn't mind them, and felt bad for not speaking up. She asked him, "So, what do we do?"

Blaise shook his head slowly. "I don't know. If we knew that we could trust this…person…then I'd feel better about it. But I don't know anything about the Death Eaters, so I wouldn't know if she was one anyway…" He trailed off, thinking hard.

Pansy smiled. "It's alright Blaise. Maybe you don't feel it, but I feel like I can trust this girl. She seems too honest to want to be with the Dark Lord. Besides, she doesn't have that aura of evilness around her."

Blaise shrugged. "Neither did Draco. And look where he is."

Pansy shook her head. "Oh no, Draco would never have made a good Death Eater. Besides, he escaped last night. Apparently Bellatrix was torturing him, and he Disapparated."

Blaise stared at the girl in shock. Finally he said, "Damn. Draco must've been pissed. He was never good at Apparation except when he was angry. Remember?" Pansy nodded and smiled.

Pansy continued, "So I think we can trust her. But we'll walk up just to be safe, yes?" Blaise nodded and they turned to Nach who walked back over to them.

"We'll go with you, but we prefer to walk up," Pansy said politely. Nach nodded and turned around to walk back up to the castle. Blaise and Pansy walked on either side of her.

As Blaise walked, he glanced at Nach. When he did, he was startled to see her eyes staring straight ahead, not focused on anything. He looked past her at Pansy, who had noticed as well. They began to feel worried. What if this girl was under the Imperius?

Nach blinked and looked at the two. "Oh…sorry about that. I was just telling my professor that we were coming, so that they can let us into the castle. I didn't mean to worry you."

Pansy asked warily, "You sure you aren't under the Imperius?"

Nach nodded and said, "If you like, you can perform 'Finite Incantantem' on me. If it makes you feel better…"

Blaise shook his head. "It's alright. Your eyes were just a little strange."

Nach looked at him, curious, and asked, "Really? What did they look like? No one's ever mentioned it before…"

Pansy smiled a little and said, "They just looked unfocused, that's all. So, you're a curious person too, huh?"

Nach blinked, confused. Pansy clarified. "Blaise always likes to learn new things, he's sort of obsessed. And the Mud-." Nach cut her off.

"Don't call Hermione that."

Pansy stared. Nach looked at her, her face very serious and slightly angry.

Blaise cut in. "How did you know she was talking about Granger?"

Nach said, "Obviously Harry, Ron, and Hermione are going to be at the castle. Of course, so is Draco Malfoy. Like you said, Miss Parkinson, Draco wouldn't have made a very good Death Eater at all. So he left and switched sides. That's probably why Voldie's so damn pissed right now. Imagine, three people of the new generation, turning away before they've even killed anyone, terrible, isn't it? He's losing supporters."

With this, Nach smirked at the stunned pair, and continued. "The way I knew you two weren't for Voldie is because you let me face you when you were talking together. Any real Death Eater would have been worried about lip-readers, which they should be, when faced with me!"

Pansy stared at Nach. "That's possible?"

Nach nodded. "Well, it is, but most wizards don't bother, since it's a Muggle technique and therefore not worth learning. But then, I'm a Muggle, so I obviously wouldn't care." At this, she grinned at Pansy's confused face and started to laugh softly. Blaise looked at Nach.

He commented quietly, "Muggles can't see Hogsmeade or Hogwarts."

Nach grinned again and said, "Well, yes, but I'm no normal Muggle. Being a Mutant comes in handy sometimes. 'Sides, I'm descended from wizards. On both sides of my family." (A/N Duh duh duh)

Cliffhanger! Nah...I won't be mean...I think. Ah, nevermind. It is a cliffhanger. BWAAAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm evil...

Alrightys! I will do my bestest to update tomw or the next day. Sorry for the cliffhanger, but after this I haven't read over it a lot, I want to see if there's any probs with it.

So, have a very loverly day and SMILE!

Tam...muaahahahahaha! I had sugar...


	4. Shocker

Hey y'alls! Tam's back, and in action! Sorry for the slow update, I went on vacation and I've been lazy...sorry...BUT! I am back and I will try to update more often!

Disclaimer: psh. We all know that I own nothing except for le plot and Nach. She's mine. Oh yeah, and I own those crazy twists that you read in this fanfic...heh.

Chapter 4: Shocker!

-Jumping forward to when Blaise, Pansy, and Nach are at the castle-

McGonagall stared silently at the two teenagers, who were currently sitting in two chairs in the late Dumbledore's office. She had listened to their story and was currently contemplating what to do with all these kids who were coming back to school so soon after it had ended.

She stood up, and Blaise and Pansy watched her nervously. McGonagall was known for disliking Slytherins, and they weren't sure what she would do. The Headmistress strode to the door and opened it, revealing the Trio and Draco listening in.

"P-professor!" Hermione stammered. "We, er, well, that is, we were just wondering…um, well, that is…"

Draco butted in. "We wanted to know what you were going to do with Blaise and Pansy. I mean, you let me in, and I was actually a Death Eater. These two aren't."

McGonagall's glare stopped Draco and Hermione's protests. She said calmly, "I understand your concern, Mr. Malfoy, but I am going to ask Nach to come here and make sure just to be safe."

Blaise and Pansy glanced at each other and looked at McGonagall. "Um, how is she going to do that?" Pansy asked, nervous.

McGonagall didn't answer and strode down the stairs to go fetch Nach, who was currently in the kitchens, talking to the house elves. She opened the door at the bottom of the stairs to reveal Nach coming towards her. Nach said happily, "You need my help?"

NcGonagall stared at her, and then nodded shortly. Nach went up the steps and walked into the office. She paused and looked at the Trio, and the Slytherins.

"Geez guys, relax. I'm not going to eat you. I'm not even going to hurt you." Blaise and Pansy looked at her, surprised.

Harry asked curiously, "What are you going to do then? I mean, if you aren't going to do some kind of truth spell…"

"She can't use magic, moron." The group turned to look at Ginny, who was currently striding up the steps next to McGonagall. "She's a Mutant, not a witch."

Nach lifted a finger cheerfully. "That's nearly correct. You see, I technically am able to do magic, I just choose to concentrate more on my Mutant abilities than swishing a stick around. Even though I know magic's real, I'd rather not depend on it to help me out. What if my wand got broken or stolen? What would I do then? Not all of us can do wandless magic like Harry here."

Everyone starred at Harry. He shifted uncomfortably. He protested weakly, "I can only do it if I'm really mad…" The group continued to stare at him. He squirmed uncomfortably.

"Well, now that that's been revealed, I'll see where Blaise and Pansy's loyalties lie." Nach went to Blaise and Pansy and closed her eyes.

Seconds, later, she opened them and smiled cheerfully. "All good! Minerva, they're clean."

McGonagall looked at her and said, "Pardon?"

Nach grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Muggle law enforcement saying. Blaise and Pansy won't betray us."

McGonagall nodded swiftly, and then muttered, "I suppose we'll have to put the boys in one room and the girls in another. Nach, Miss Granger, kindly escort Miss Parkinson with you to your dormitory. Take Miss Weasley with you as well. Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Malfoy, take Mr. Zabini to your dormitory. Then meet us for lunch in the Great Hall." With this, she left to go speak to the remaining teachers and to call some of the Order of the Phoenix.

The teenagers nodded quietly, then stood. When they all reached the corridor outside Dumbledore's, or rather, McGonagall's office, they stopped and looked at each other. Nach broke the silence by jumping on Hermione and saying happily, "Okay, take us to the girls' dorms! I've never been able to sleep in a dormitory before! Yay! Let's go!" Hermione stumbled a little, glanced at Nach, and nodded silently.

The girls and boys split, each heading towards their respective dormitories. Pansy, apprehensive, followed the girls. She was interrupted by Nach slinging her arm around her shoulders, saying, "Don't worry about being outnumbered by Gryffindors, Pansy! I'm not one, I'm a Ravenclaw!"

Pansy and the Gryffindor girls stared at Nach. Hermione asked, "What do you mean, you're a Ravenclaw? You haven't gone to school here!"

Nach said, crossing her arms, "Yes I- ack! I wasn't supposed to say that! Um…I tested myself once with the Sorting Hat! I was bored and Dumbledore let me try it! Nevermind me, let's just go to the dormitory! Okay?" With this, she turned and hurried away.

Pansy, Ginny, and Hermione stared after Nach, and then looked at each other. Pansy said softly, "Like that didn't sound suspicious at all…I wonder what she's hiding?"

Hermione and Ginny nodded in response. All three then hurried after Nach's retreating figure.

As the groups reconvened at the Great Hall, the girls informed the boys of what had happened on the trip to the dormitory. All the boys agreed, (for once), that something strange was happening, and all the teenagers agreed that they wanted to know what was going on. Blaise and Pansy mentioned Nach's slightly revealed heritage and made the group even more curious about this odd, brown-haired girl.

They all noticed that Nach had spoken quickly and softly to the other Mutants, and they had seemed slightly concerned. John had wrapped his arm around her shoulders and grinned. Then he had said something that made Nach smirk and punch him on the arm, hard. There was going to be a bruise…most definitely.

The steadily growing group sat down to eat lunch. Harry and Ron did their normal inhaling of food, while Blaise and Draco ate politely, but were obviously just as hungry as the less proper boys. Pansy, Hermione, and Ginny ate politely, and talked in between bites. The elder Mutants Ororo, Scott, Xavier, Nightcrawler, and Logan ate together, Logan taking in large amounts in one bite. The younger Mutants Marie, Bobby, John, and Nach also ate together. The Hogwarts people were surprised that it was not the boys, but Nach, who was eating a large amount of food. Of course, she was doing it with greatest decorum, so there was no inherent problem like her choking in the near future. McGonagall ate with the other teachers, being the unofficial leader of them as she was. The table was filled with soft chatter and laughter.

Suddenly, Nach and Xavier said at the same time, "Visitors coming in." Nach continued while Xavier stopped, "And I think…nah, it can't be…wait, it is!" With that, she leapt up and ran out the doors, yelling, "Cissy! And Remy!"

Draco muttered, "That's my mother's nickname…" The Hogwarts Sextet looked at him, and then returned to staring out the immense doorway, curious to see who it could be.

A slender cloaked figure and a taller figure were walking up the steps to the Hogwarts' entrance. Nach barreled into one of them, shouting happily, "Cissy! I knew I'd see you again!" She let go of the figure and hugged the other one saying, "I knew I'd be seeing you again too, Remy. It's great to see both of you again!"

The smaller figure commented wryly, "And how long has it been? Almost twenty years? And you haven't aged a bit…It's not fair…"

Nach laughed and said, "I have too! It's been four years for me! I'm sorry I didn't come to see you sooner though…but I didn't have any time to. Dumbledore wanted me to concentrate on training more."

The two people, Cissy and Remy, stood straighter and walked with Nach into the Dining Hall. The man said, "Sorry we're late. Had to sneak around to get out of Cissy's home."

McGonagall smiled slightly and said softly, "It's alright, Remus, Narcissa. We've just started anyway. Come and join us for lunch?"

Pulling back their hoods and removing their cloaks, Remus Lupin and Narcissa Malfoy nodded together. Remus commented, "Of course we'll eat. I feel like I haven't eaten for days!"

(A/N All together now…-WHAAAAAAAAAATTT!) Cliffy! No! I was kidding! Don't hurt me! OI! I said I was kidding! Just read the rest of this already!

Draco stood up. He stammered, "Mother? What are you doing here?"

Nach immediately asked, "Oh, he's your kid, Cissy? I thought he looked familiar…"

Narcissa winced. "You didn't manage to connect us by the last name?"

Nach snorted. "You know I'm no good with these things! Besides, when I knew you, your last name wasn't Malfoy!"

Draco butted in again. "What are you doing here Mother?"

Narcissa looked at him and winced. "When you left, I was fairly sure you'd make it here. I felt that it would be best if I made my escape as well. So I asked an old friend," here she nodded at Remus, and he smiled gently, "to help me out."

Draco blinked. Harry asked, "You were friends with Remus?"

Remus said quietly, "We did go to school together. And when Sasha came, it was difficult to not become friends."

Hermione jumped up and, pointing, said to Nach, "YOU went to school with them! How's that possible?"

Nach waved her hands frantically. "Only for a year! I didn't MEAN to go back in time! I messed up! I was late to go see Dumbledore, so I thought it would be a good idea to teleport back in time five minutes too…I just ended up going back a little more than that…eheh." (A/N Everyone stare at authoress in baffled silence…3….2….1….WE'LL KILL YOU!)

Harry asked eagerly, "So if you knew Remus, you also knew Sirius and my parents?"

Nach blinked, peered at him, and said, "Well, I'll be…You're Lily and Jimmy's kid! Cool! I thought they'd end up together, once Jimmy stopped being a moron and got his head out of his- mph!" Remus had covered her mouth to prevent a rather impolite word from coming out of her mouth.

Harry stared at Nach. 'So, she knew my parents, and obviously Sirius too. But, what about Wormtail? And Snape?'

Hermione seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Harry. "So you knew Pettigrew and Professor Snape too?"

Nach said sheepishly, "Well, y'see, Peter was a little nervous around me, so he tended to avoid hanging around when I was there. Professor Snape? You mean Sev? Sure I knew him. We were good buddies."

Remus patted her on the head lightly while Narcissa allowed a smile to sneak up on her face. "Sasha, we all know this is great to reminisce, but Cissy and I are rather hungry. If you don't mind releasing us so we can eat?"

Nach grinned sheepishly and released her long-lost friends. The two sat down and began to put food on their plates. Draco still seemed to be in shock at the fact that his mum had run away from the Manor, and with the werewolf no less. Ginny watched him, and when she guessed that he wouldn't be regaining consciousness anytime soon without help, reached over and flicked his forehead.

Draco jumped and hit his knee on the bottom of the table. He winced and glared at Ginny. She rested her chin in the palm of her hand and said nonchalantly, "It looked like you needed some help waking up from the shock." All Draco could muster was a glare, and then he returned to his food. Ginny sniffed and said, "You could at least say thank you."

Draco asked dryly, "For what?"

Ginny pointed her fork at Harry, who was sitting next to Draco, eating away. "I saved you from losing your lunch to that boy over there. He has a tendency to steal food when his plate runs out and there's none left on the serving plates."

Draco glanced at Harry, who had started eyeing his food hungrily, and muttered, "I suppose I do owe you thanks after all, then." Raising his voice, he said, "Oi, Harry, stop ogling my food. You're not getting any of it." Harry immediately turned his head away and started reaching his fork towards Ginny's plate.

The redheaded girl raised her eyebrow at Harry and held her fork in a stabbing position. Harry quickly retreated and looked around for a potential victim. Finding none, he sighed mock mournfully and said, "I am going to starve."

Remus' voice reached him. "What are you talking about? You eat more than Jimmy did at your age. And that's saying a lot. If you're still hungry, just go down to the kitchens. They like giving people food."

Harry made a face at the man, amongst soft laughter from the table participants.

Nach stretched and asked McGonagall cheerfully, "Righto then. When are more Order peeps gonna show up? I'm pretty sure there's more than this, or we're in big trouble."

Remus said softly, "Tonks is coming soon. Moody and the others will come later, with their jobs and all."

Nach asked curiously, "Who's Tonks?"

Ron said loudly, "She's Remus' girlfr-oof!" His head hit the table, forced down by both Hermione's and Ginny's fists.

Ginny muttered, "Try to let other people answer for themselves for once. Your mouth tends to run away with you."

Hermione chided as well, "It's Remus' business. Don't make assumptions!"

Draco watched this intercourse, thinking bemusedly, 'Granger's beating up on her wannabee boyfriend. What's the world coming too?'

Pansy giggled at the antics of the Gryffindors, feeling far less uncomfortable than she used to around them. She thought that maybe they weren't so bad, even the Golden Trio had been polite to her, with the exception of Ron. Ginny was fairly friendly, and Nach seemed…nice, if a bit on the odd side.

Blaise watched the group silently, struggling to absorb the new information. Mrs. Malfoy had run away from the Manor too and therefore from the Dark Lord. She apparently was part of some sort of group that worked for the light, since Nach had asked where the rest of them were. She seemed to be including Mrs. Malfoy in the group. He wondered if Draco had realized the implications of that statement yet. (A/N I'm making Narcissa part of the Order, just in secret, sort of like Severus. I like both of these people too much to just kill them off…or make them evil..oops, that slipped out!)

When the group finished laughing at Ron's protests and Remus' blushing face, McGonagall stood up and directed the two newcomers to more rooms. Draco immediately stood up and followed his mother, needing to talk to her while Harry happily finished off the leftovers of Draco's lunch.

"Mother?"

"Yes Draco?"

Draco shifted uncomfortably. "Well, why are you here? I thought that you were loyal to father and the Dark Lord."

Narcissa sighed softly and sat down to explain, patting the space of the bed next to her. Draco sat. "For a time, my son, I was. When we were first married, your father and I, I was content to be the arm decoration that he wanted in public and the doting wife in private. When he first courted me, your father was very affectionate. He truly loved me, but after he got the Mark, he pulled away. I felt like he didn't love me anymore, but I stuck with him because I loved him. I still love him. But after you were born, I decided that your safety was more important than your father's cause. So I got back in contact, as you see, I was basically in isolation after the marriage, I got back in contact with an old school friend of mine."

Draco said, "The werewolf?"

Narcissa shook her head. "No, I was scared to speak to any male friend, for fear that if your father found out about it, he would take it the wrong way. I got back in contact with a girl who I only became friends with in my last year of school. Lily Evans, or, more accurately for that time, Lily Potter. Yes, Harry Potter's mother. I went to her and told her everything: how your father didn't love me, and how I was scared for your safety. She told me about an organization that Dumbledore had started, that was working against Voldemort; yes, I am able to say his name, it doesn't hurt at all, silly; and she invited me to go to Dumbledore with her to speak to him about possible ways of protecting you. She trusted me enough to tell me about the Order, and I joined the next day. I gave them what information your father told me, and regained the feeling of usefulness that I had lost in the past four years of marriage to Lucius. Dumbledore had promised that if anything happened to me, he would get you out of danger and place you with a family that would care for you. It was actually planned that you would go to the Potter's, since Lily was my best friend and James was willing to help me out in any way. He was highly concerned for my safety, and promised to take care of you if anything happened. In his words, 'there's no bloody way any kid of our friend is going to grow up in danger.' Unfortunately, it was impossible for me to reciprocate the offer. Therefore, Harry went to his aunt's house instead of coming to us."

Draco stared at his mother. He asked, incredulous, "Harry would have been my surrogate brother if something happened to you? Are you crazy?"

Narcissa grinned wryly. "Well, in a way, that silly rivalry you had with him all during school is like a brotherly rivalry, isn't it?" Draco fell silent, contemplating this statement. Narcissa continued her story. "So, I joined the Order, and was reunited with my old school friends. I told no one, and your father simply thought that I was going out shopping more than usual. I even took you sometimes. You got on well with Harry and Ronald then. You even competed with Harry the same way you do now. It was nice, in a terrified, 'I hope no one finds out about this or I'm dead' sort of way. After Voldemort was defeated, the Order was closed down for a while, and I went back to being the arm decoration again. I was heartbroken over Lily and James being gone anyway, so it was easy to hide behind that idea of the perfect wife for a while anyway. When Voldemort came back, however, I was called into service again. I didn't mind though, I liked being a person again, and it was like paying respects to James and Lily anyway. I wanted to help. So here I am now, finally free of the Malfoy chains. I'm going to be myself at last. I hope you don't mind, Draco."

Draco shook his head. He had noticed his mother seeming to become more alive after the Dark Lord came back, as if she had regained a purpose. She had even seemed to stand up to his father more. He remembered that she would ask him about Potter more, but it had never registered with him. Now he realized that she was trying to look out for the son of her best friend, even if she had to do it from afar. He found that he didn't really mind that he would have been surrogate brothers with Harry. The boy wasn't so bad, once the whole House rivalry thing ended. Draco noticed how nervous his mother looked.

He leaned over and gave her a hug, silently accepting her past and her decision to go her own way. Narcissa immediately relaxed and hugged her son tightly. She was so relieved to finally get this secret off her chest. She loved her son so much. She was afraid to lose him because of her choice to be on the side of the Light. She was glad that he had chosen the same side as her. Lucius she could deal with, but the loss of her son would be more painful than anything.

Draco said softly, "I'll let you unpack. I'm going back to my dormitory, alright?"

She nodded and released him. He stood and left the room, heading back to his room. He realized that he had made the same choice as his mother. He smiled as the thought struck him that he was more like his mother than he had ever realized.

Draco opened the door to his dorm. Immediately he noticed that Harry, Ron, Blaise, Bobby, John, Marie, Hermione, Ginny, Pansy, and Nach were all in there. Harry and Ron sat on Ron's bed, and Hermione and Ginny had stolen Draco's bed as their seat. Blaise and Pansy were sitting on Blaise's bed together. Bobby and Marie sat together on Bobby's bed. Nach and John sat together, playing cards and sharing a snack. Most of them were looking at him eagerly, wanting to know what he had spoken about with his mother. Even Hermione and Harry, who usually restrained themselves and waited to be told, were staring at him, eyes curious. The only one who wasn't looking at him was Nach. She was sitting on John's bed, currently eating cheerfully and playing cards by herself.

"So? What happened?" Pansy spoke up. She was worried about Draco, but also highly curious about what he had spoken about with his mother. Blaise nodded and continued to look at Draco carefully. Ron was nearly jumping on Draco, he was so curious.

Draco pondered how to tell them what had happened, so he started with, "Weasley, Potter, I suppose neither of you remembered that we used to be playmates?"

Ron was so astonished he fell off his bed. Harry's jaw dropped. Ginny said loudly, "Bullocks!" Blaise and Pansy looked shocked, and then started to smile a little at Ginny's exclamation. Hermione stared at him silently, shocked into silence for once. Marie and Bobby blinked, baffled. They had no clue what was going on. John's mouth twitched once, then relaxed into a full-on grin. And Nach? Well, she was currently struggling to not burst into laughter at everyone's faces. But then, that's what she's like, so no shocker there. Nach is laughing at everyone. Just like usual.

Now, I am done because I haven't written anymore. Be proud guys! I have now put up everything that I have written so far. There goes the idea of finishing the story before I put it up...

Anyway! I will try to update sooner, and I wish ya'lls a nice day and SMILE!

Tam

P.S. I want Pocky...(That's what Nach is eating...if you're curious. This is explained as well!)


	5. Days Go By

READ THIS PLEASE!

Hey y'alls! Sorry for not updating. I've been in a lazy mood.

AND I WAS HOPING TO GET SOME REVIEWS, BUT NOOOOOOO! IT'S TOO MUCH WORK TO HIT THE BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CHAPTER! i MEAN, COME ON GUYS, OVER 700 HITS AND ONLY ONE REVIEW THAT WAS IN ONE OF THE FIRST CHAPTERS? THAT'S JUST SAD!

Okay. Sorry about that. I'm just a little frustrated, since I probably won't be able to update very much once school starts, and I'm not sure it's worth doing if I don't get any feedback. I would like at leas five reviews, but it doesn't really matter very much. I just want to know if you people enjoy my writing, okay? Thanks!

Chapter 5: Days Go By

Draco watched everyone's reactions calmly. He was too far gone into shock to freak out anymore. He could only accept what his mother said as truth, since she had no reason to lie to him.

Harry suddenly said, "You know, now that I think back on it, I sort of remember, really blurry of course, playing with this red-headed kid and this blond kid sometimes…"

Ron shook his head fiercely. "I remember nothing! There is no way that's true!"

Hermione, Ginny, and Pansy silently watched the exchange. Blaise also watched, but he was starting to see the humor in the situation, and was beginning to laugh silently. Bobby and Marie simply stopped paying attention, since they had no idea what was going on, and went back to talking softly to each other and holding hands. John was grinning while Nach laughed quietly. Then he kicked her gently to shut her up.

Draco shrugged and said, "She has no reason to lie, so I suppose I should believe my mother. Nach, you were at my mother's last year of school here. Was she friends with Harry's mum?"

Nach nodded. "Sure was! Cissy, Lily, Alice and I hung out all the time. The four of us even got the Marauders and Sev, along with Lucy, to stop fighting and hang out with us."

Harry asked, "Lucy? Snape had a girlfriend?" Ron made a gagging motion while Pansy and Blaise tried not to shudder.

Nach burst into laughter. "No way! Lucy is what I used to call Lucius Malfoy, Draco's dad. Man, he hated that. It made him so angry. Hey, hold on. Draco?"

"What?"

"I have a question."

"Alright…"

"Is your hair naturally blond?" At her question everyone started snickering, and Ginny thought to herself, 'I have wondered that.'

Draco's face went slightly red at everyone's laughter. "Yes Nach, my hair is natural."

Nach nodded and said, "I see. So your father still has to bleach his hair then…"

Draco stared at her in shock. "Wha…what…you mean…"

"No, Lucy is not naturally blond. It runs in Malfoy blood to be blond, but he wasn't blessed with that attribute. Cissy has blonde hair, so you must have it from her. He had to bleach his hair. He was so vain about it, that he had it bleached once a week with magic."

Draco was silent. "What's his real hair color?" Everyone else nodded, save Bobby and Marie, who were still speaking quietly and holding hands. Damn lovebirds.

Nach smile evilly. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you, since he hasn't said…"

"No! We wanna know!" Ron yelled. Ginny and Hermione both kicked him saying, "It's none of your business!"

Draco shrugged, saying, "You can say in front of everyone. I don't care."

Nach smirked. "What family do the Malfoys hate the most? Or rather, which family doesn't get along very well with the Malfoys?"

Two boys said simultaneously, "The Weasleys." Draco and Ron glared at each other for reaching the conclusion at the same time.

Nach said simply, "Now you have your answer to Lucy's hair color."

Everyone was silent. You could have heard a pin drop. Or multiple pins, but that's off the subject.

3….

2…..

1…..

(A/N All together now: Get on with the bloody story already!) Right, sorry.

Everyone was silent. You could have heard a pin drop. Or mult-(Everyone: Stop it! A/N right right, sorry again. Got carried away with the suspense.)

Ginny said, "You have got to be kidding me. There is no way Malfoy could have red hair."

Nach said, "No no no. I already told you. Draco Malfoy is a natural blond!"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I meant Lucius Malfoy."

Nach tapped her head with her knuckle. "Right. My bad. Yes, actually, Lucy is a red-head. It's quite funny, really. Cissy and I caught him with a spell that erases magical influences. Basically, it removed the magic he used on his hair and revealed that he has a rather handsome head of red hair. He was furious though…he didn't speak to me for a week. He spoke to Cissy though…he was really bad at staying angry at her."

Draco felt a smirk going across his face. He couldn't help it. How funny is it to realize that your father is so vain that he bleaches his hair to make himself look more like nobility? And is so petty that he despises the family that his hair makes him look like?

Ginny saw the smirk on Draco's face. It was one of not cruelty, but of finding a situation incredibly hilarious. She thought to herself, 'You know, when he isn't acting like an arse, he really is quite good-looking….' But she cut that thought off before it could go much further.

Two Days Later

The rest of the Order had arrived, and were using the Hogwarts Castle as their fortress. Tonks and Nach got on very well, and clearly enjoyed needling Remus about everything. Narcissa gave McGonagall plans that the Dark Lord had created.

The kids all hung out and practiced spells. Harry was currently working with the three Slytherins on creating a Patronus, because, as he said, "You'll be seeing a lot of Dementors. They're really nasty creatures."

Nach disappeared for one day and came back to tell McGonagall that she had made contact with allies, and that that relationship was secure.

Hagrid and Nach went into the Forbidden Forest multiple times for unknonwn reasons, and she refused to tell the others why.

Unfortunately, however, Ron seemed to be taking an awful lot of interest in Nach, much to her obvious annoyance. It was clear to everyone that Ron had a bit of a thing for Nach, and was constantly trying to flirt or hit on her.

So the third night that the group was together, they were taking a break from planning and were all hanging out together. McGonagall and the other adults were having a drink and chatting. Marie and Booby were, once again, being lovebirds. The three Slytherins, the Golden Trio, Ginny, John and Nach were all sitting together. Although, the Hogwarts girls were chatting together while the boys were talking. John and Nach were playing cards again.

After about ten minutes, Nach suddenly said, "Ronald, stop it."

Ron said, "What? I didn't do anything!"

Nach replied sharply, "You may not be doing anything, but you're thinking about it! It's gross, so quit it!"

Ron yelled, gathering the entire groups attention, "You're reading my mind? That's just wrong!"

The Professor's voice caught everyone's ears. Xavier said, "Mr. Weasley, on the contrary, you are practically screaming your thoughts at Sasha. It's not her fault she can't completely block you out when you're as loud as you are."

Nach nodded her thanks to the professor and continued, "Anyway, **Ronald**, I'm not interested! So quit thinking about me and get a life! I have a boyfriend, for goodness sake!"

Ron, embarrassed, shot back, "Well, why isn't your boyfriend here if he cares so much?"

Nach rolled her eyes. "It's not his battle. Besides, he's not a Mutant or a wizard. I also asked him not to come." Curiously, she touched a small pouch that hung on her hip as she said this.

Hermione interrupted before Ron could be even more of a jerk (A/N I'm a Ron-hater, if you haven't realized…sorry!) and said, "Ron, give it up. She said she's not interested. Just try to keep your thoughts to yourself, okay?"

Ron growled softly and stalked towards the boys' dorm, muttering to himself. Hermione and Ginny turned to Nach and said simultaneously, "Sorry about that. He can be a jerk."

Nach sighed and shook her head. "It's fine," she told the girls. "It just weirds me out, hearing some guy go on and on about me in his head. My boyfriend never does that."

John started to grin. "It's just too bad that your boyfriend's a red-head too, isn't it?" Nach glared good-naturedly at him, and lightly touched the pouch at her hip again.

McGonagall broke in. "I suppose it's time for bed, children. Go on." The boys and girls each got up and went out the door towards their dorms.

Once they got to the split where the boys and girls separated, John turned to everyone and said cheerfully, "Why don't we get ready for bed and meet up again at the boys' dorm? We can hang out longer." The girls and boys thought about it, shrugged and agreed to meet up again.

Twenty minutes later, the girls knocked on the boys' dorm door. Pansy was wearing a nightgown with a little lace on it, Hermione and Ginny were both wearing T-shirts with shorts underneath, although Ginny's T-shirt was a hand-me-down Chudley Cannons shirt from Ron while Hermione's was a black shirt that said "The Grateful Dead" on it with a picture. She said that it was one of her mom's old shirts. Marie wore a nightgown that had long sleeves, went down to her ankles, and tied in the back. Nach wore flannel pants with a camisole and a flannel shirt. They all were wearing their shoes so that their feet stayed warm.

When they came in, Marie immediately went and sat down with Bobby, who smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Pansy, Hermione, and Ginny kicked Draco off his bed and commandeered it. Nach sat next to John. Draco and Blaise were sitting together, and Harry and Ron were sitting on Ron's bed, while Ron still looked a little ticked off.

John said when everyone was settled, "I thought that since you Hogwarts people have never met Mutants before, that we should tell you our powers and our control over them, so maybe you can understand us a little better."

The Hogwarts kids looked at each other and nodded, curious about these powers. John said, "With that agreed on, I'll go first. I can control fire, but I can't create it, unfortunately, at least not with my Mutant powers. I'm a Master of my power, and I can shape the fire anyway I want."

Bobby took control. "I create ice. I can manipulate it and freeze things, I also can make ice walls. I suppose I'm a Master as well."

Marie said softly, "My mutation is in my skin. When I touch people with my bare skin, they start having the life sucked out of them. Fortunately, I've learned to control it a little, so that I can touch people for short periods of time without harming them. I'm as much of a Master of my ability as is possible."

Nach muttered, "And now it's my turn." John nudged her. "Fine, I'm going, I'm going. I'm telepathic, telekinetic, and I can teleport. I also can change my shape into animals. Eventually I'll be able to change into people, but I'm not to interested in that. I'm a Master of teleportation and shape-changing, as well as telekinesis, but I have trouble controlling the telepathy part. That depends on how strong the barriers the person has around their mind are."

Finished, she looked at John, curious about what he intended to do now. Blaise bet John to the punch. "Can you show us your abilities? Well, not you, Marie, but the others?"

The Mutants looked at each other, shrugged, and demonstrated. John flicked his lighter and manipulated the flames. Bobby created an ice-rose and handed it to Marie, who grinned. Nach sighed and closed here eyes. The Hogwarts kids watched as she lifted all the beds they were sitting on into the air, and carefully lowered them. Then she teleported to the opposite side of the room and back. Then she opened her eyes and looked at the Hogwarts kids. _Is that good enough proof that we have abilities?_ She thought into their heads.

Blaise smiled a little. "Yes, it's plenty, thank you," he responded. He was rewarded with a cheeky grin as Nach beamed.

The Hogwarts and Mutants kids continued to talk and hang out until late in the night when McGonagall came marching in and started yelling at them for staying up late. The girls laughed as they were escorted back to their dorm by Logan, who seemed to find the whole situation hilarious, as the kids were in the middle of a fierce pillow fight when McGonagall came in, and she had almost been hit in the face by a rogue pillow.

Yep, life at Hogwarts Castle was pretty weird, but that's okay. They don't seem to mind very much.

Yay! I enjoyed writing that! So yeah, peoples, please don't get mad at me for being a Ron-hater! I can't help it! So please no flames over that, okay?

I hope y'alls have a nice day night or whatever and

SMILE! You never know who's going to fall in love with it!

Tam


	6. Battle Begins

Right then. Sorry for not updating for a while. I've been busy finishing summer reading...ick. Anyway, this part was surprisingly easy to write, for all that I thought this would be the hardest part to write...hmmmm. Oh well whatever.

I'm kind of annoyed about reviews, still none...but I want to get this up before school starts so that I don't have to feel bad about not finishing my ficcy. This almost done, so feel happy. Some more chappies, then I'm done and can get this story out of my head. I'm not saying I don't like it, I do, but I have more stories in mind and I won't start them without finishing this one. It's a crazy principle I have, so don't worry about it. PLEASE REVIEW! I WANT TO KNOW IF THIS WAS WORTH DOING! PLEASE!

Disclaimer: okay, if you think I own this, you are crazy! I don't own HP! I only own Nach, nothing else. Oh wait, I own the Feet-Nibbling Puggles...heh. I don't own Naruto, but I wish I owned Gaara or Shino! So cool! And cute too!

Chapter: Battle Begins

Days continued to pass, and news from the outside world got worse. The fog of Dementors continued to grow, and more strange disasters happened. McGonagall and the Order were frantically trying to gather information from the few spies they had and to make plans for the defeat of Voldemort. There continued to be small battles between the two sides, but Voldemort remained out of sight. The Death Eaters were doing the dirty work.

Nach spent hours alone, concentrating. John said that she was contacting as many allies as she could to try to get information and was also spreading her senses out to try to find the Death Eaters and pinpoint their location. She was having no luck. John would go visit her to bring her food. He reported that she was exhausting herself. She was growing paler and more tired looking by the day. But she refused to stop trying or to leave her isolation. Harry and the other Hogwarts kids upped the practice of spells and charms. Each Slytherin mastered the Patronus charm and was immediately set to new charms. As Harry said, they had missed out on the DA and were making up for it now.

Interestingly enough, Neville Longbottom came to Hogwarts, as did Luna. They said that they would help in any way they could. They joined the others in spell practice. Draco noticed that Neville no longer was the timid, clumsy boy from school. He was utterly sure of himself and his decision. He was working with the plants around Hogwarts, trying to spell them for protection.

The only time Nach came out of her trance was when Neville came. She looked at him, recognized him as her friend's (Alice's) son, smiled, and introduced herself. Then she went back to work. Neville seemed slightly intimidated by her, but relaxed when the other kids told him that she didn't mean to harm him any time soon.

Narcissa was frantically trying to remember any information that might help, as was Draco.

On the third month after Draco changed sides, the Order got specific information about the whereabouts of the Death Eaters and their leader. They were situated on an island that had been made Unplottable for reasons no wizard could remember. Their hide-out was there and they were all getting together there for a final meeting before Voldemort began his attack on Hogwarts. Immediately, the Order began to send its best out to search for the island, and they also upped the protections on Hogwarts.

They found the island, and two made it back from the team of ten sent out. They said that the Death Eater meeting was in three days.

McGonagall called a meeting in the Great Hall for everyone in the castle. When everyone was settled, she began. She set up diagrams and showed the plans for their attack on the Unplottable island. She said, "We are going to attack on the day of their meeting. We have no other choice." With that, she continued the explanations and finished late that night.

Harry asked McGonagall, "How are we supposed to defeat Voldemort if we don't have all the Horcruxes?"

She responded softly, "Nach has been working day and night, and she says that she has located all the Horcruxes. She will go tomorrow and gather them."

Harry said, "But that's impossible! There are protections in all of the Horcruxes! How can she possibly get them all in one day?"

McGonagall clenched her hands and said wearily, "She says that she knows a way. She says that there are no spells against Mutant abilities, so she's going to teleport in, find the Horcrux, and teleport out with it. She doesn't need to touch them, so she should be alright. She's starting tonight, actually, to give herself more time to get them all."

Harry continued, "But she'll be exhausted. She's already been working so hard, how is she supposed to do this without killing herself from exhaustion?"

McGonagall looked at Harry, surprised. "Didn't you know? Nach doesn't need to sleep. Her Mutation prevents her from sleeping, so she can work days and nights. She will be exhausted, but hopefully she will make it back with a day before the final battle, so she'll be able to rest up."

Harry was about to protest more, when McGonagall interrupted. "I know that you are worried, Mr. Potter, but Nach has assured me that she will be fine. She did not give me a choice on this matter. She insists that she will do this." Harry saw the sadness and fear for the girl in McGonagall's eyes, and stopped his protests. He could see that McGonagall clearly did not like this plan, but that she had no choice.

He left the woman and sought Nach out. She looked at him surprised, and at the group of her friends who had followed Harry. All the Hogwarts kids were there, as were her Mutant friends. Harry said to Nach, "Good luck. And be careful." Ginny, Hermione, and Pansy hugged her, and wished her luck. Luna shook her hand and told her to look out for Feet-Nibbling Puggles, as they were a nasty breed. Nach laughed and said that she would. Draco and Blaise shook her hand, and wished her luck. Ron looked at her, then shook her hand as well, as he seemed to have gotten over his little crush. Neville patted her shoulder and grinned half-heartedly. Marie looked at Nach and then hugged her tightly, her eyes tearing up. She said to Nach, "We'll be seeing you in a day or so, right?"

Nach looked at her, smiled, and said, "Definitely, Someone's got to get you away from Bobby and practicing fighting, right?" Marie half-smiled, half-sobbed, and nodded.

Bobby clasped Nach's shoulder and said, "I'll keep John out of trouble for you."

Nach grinned and said, "Thanks. You never know what he's going to get himself into." She laughed lightly at John's protests.

John hugged his sister tightly and muttered, "I'll beat the crap out of you if you don't get back here in a day. You'd better be back so that we can fight the bad guys together, okay?"

Nach hugged him back and whispered, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Her goodbyes finished, Nach stepped back from the group and headed towards the doors of the school. As she stepped out, she faded away like a mirage, teleporting towards certain death.

Harry clenched his fists and turned and walked towards the Great Hall. When he realized no one was following, he turned back and called, "Come on guys, we've got to keep preparing. There's nothing we can do but wait, so we might as well get some work done." The group stared at him, startled, then, their gazes hardening, nodded and followed him back to the Hall.

Two days had passed, and Nach wasn't back. Time was running out, and they couldn't wait for her any longer. They had to go to the island and hoped that she had managed to destroy the Horcruxes before being delayed. John was pale, but he was silent as they prepared to take Portkeys to the island. No one said a word about Nach as they trudged to the Great Hall for one last meeting, all together, before they began the battle.

(A/N All right, since I'm going to suck at describing a battle scene, I won't. This will just be swift clips of fights, not some huge dramatic fighting scene. You can just imagine the amazing battle plans and strategy, since I have no idea about how they're attacking other than it's on a giant freakin' plain. )

Ron, Harry, Hermione, and the other kids were standing in a loose circle, panting and nursing some minor wounds. The fighting had been going on about an hour, and there had already been harsh losses on all sides. Narcissa had been taken back to Hogwarts so that she could be treated after being blasted with a nasty combination of the Cruciatus curse and _sectumsempra_. The rest of the Weasleys had arrived, with Bill and Fleur fighting together. The words Bill had spoken to his siblings were only, "I suppose the wedding will have to be put off a while, then?" which caused some strained laughter. The twins were fighting together and were still standing, throwing painful and ingenious curses at their enemies. Luna seemed to have snapped out of her dreamy state and was actively "kicking butt," much to Ron's clear surprise and slight admiration. John continued to throw his fire, burning his enemies painfully.

Unfortunately, the kid fighters were in trouble. They had been successfully isolated from their allies by a group of Death Eaters, who were steadily advancing. They were taunting the Slytherins, calling them blood traitors and other nasty names.

The stronghold of spell casters was broken when both Ginny and Hermione failed to raise a shield against the Cruciatus. Both fell to the ground, writhing. The distraction caused by this was enough for the Death Eaters to come in closer, forcing the kids into a tighter circle. They knew that they were finished, and that Voldemort was going to win.

Draco guarded Ginny as she pulled herself up painfully, and he reached out a hand to help. She took it, and he smiled, saying, "Sorry for all the times I was an arse to you." She smiled sadly, knowing that he felt that they were going to die. The kids could see the Weasley twins and their family, along with McGonagall, trying to fight their way towards them.

Harry yelled to the rest, "It's not over yet! We aren't- agh!"He was cut off when he was hit with a spell that forced him to his knees. He coughed, and struggled to get up.

The Death Eaters laughed, and stepped forward to kill the group and take Harry to Voldemort when suddenly…

FWOOM!

The Death Eaters were thrown back when a spout of fire came from the air, singeing them and burning the grass to ashes. The kids and the Eaters all looked up to see a huge bulk coming down.

Fire came down again, catching one Death Eater who didn't run fast enough. The dragon landed in front of the kid fighters, continuing to force the Eaters back. The kids stared in awe as a petite figure climbed down quickly from the dragon's back.

Nach landed on the ground in front of them, dirty and tired looking. She grinned, and said triumphantly, "Sorry I'm late. The last Horcrux was protected by Eaters. I had a bit of trouble convincing them to shove off before I got angry."

She pulled a sack from her back and said, "I got them all except for Nagini. Old Voldie's screwed."

She was interrupted by John jumping forward and hugging her, yelling, "I'm glad you're okay!"

The group grinned and started cheering, sure now that they would win this battle. The dragon roared, its voice thundering across the plain. Nach grinned up at the dragon and said, "I got a ride from some allies of ours, who were a little late as well." And then she pointed up to the sky, where a swarm of dragons of different species, heading towards them, clearly ready to join the battle. Fighting on the battlefield slowed as people began to look up in awe. There were Common Welsh Greens, whose roar sounded more like bird song then a roar; Hebridean Blacks, Norwegian Rodgebacks, Swedish Short-Snouts, and surprisingly, Harry could clearly see a Hungarian Horntail in the flock. Nach smiled and said, "Now the fight really begins." With that she nodded to the group and jumped back onto her dragon's back, where the group could see another figure waiting. The dragon took off and joined the flock.

The Welsh Greens were in front, clearly being used for short range and specific attacks on individuals, because of the thinness of its flames. The Hungarian Horntail remained high in the air, blowing its fire at larger groups of Death Eaters that were further away.

Harry felt his spirit returning to him as he watched more Death Eaters being taken out than Order fighters. He turned to his group and they nodded, ready to return to the battle. The twins quickly joined them, cracking jokes about how Harry must have dragon's blood, since he keeps meeting all these dragons. The group of teens became a swift force. They were used to bind prisoners of the other side. Marie was using her fighting skills to subdue Death Eaters who no longer had wands, and John and Bobby were using their abilities to distract Eaters while Harry and the others moved in for the proverbial kill. Pansy turned out to be surprisingly quick and resilient, as she managed to dodge most curses and got back up after being hit with Cruciatus a few times.

The group noticed an area where fighting was more severe. Harry and the others believed that this had to be where Voldemort was, since his Eaters would be protecting him. They decided to hang around the edges to pick off Eaters as much as they could. They remained in a circle so that they could protect on all sides.

As the Death Eaters were whittled down more and more, Draco began to feel strange, as if he was seeing some vision. He could see glimpses of blond hair, but he knew that none of the Death Eaters had blond hair except for his father, who was in Azkaban. And yet, he could still see the hair…

The group could see that Nach had landed on the ground and was currently fighting a Death Eater, who happened to be the one that Draco felt funny about.

They could hear the two yelling at each other, as a circle began to form around the two, separating them from the rest of the fighters. This Eater was holding his wand in one hand and a sword in the other. He shot curses at her and struck at her at the same time. She dodged the spells and countered the sword strikes with her arms, which appeared to have some sort of armor on them to protect her.

All of a sudden, she leapt forward, past the sword, and pulling off the Eater's mask and hood, she shouted, "Wake up Lucy! There's no way you can win! Your own family has turned! There's no way that bastard is going to win!"

Draco felt time slowing as he saw his father, blond hair hanging around his face and a maniacal look in his eyes, laugh harshly at Nach. The man shouted back to her, "Keep telling yourself that, Sasha! My wife left me because of you! You'll never survive this, you can't even use a wand!"

At this, he struck at her ferociously with his sword, intending to kill. Nach dodged yet again, but this time, she hit his hand in such a way that he dropped the sword. He shouted curses at her, but she stopped dodging and simply blocked them with her powers, the curses glowing brightly as they hit the invisible wall around her and then going out. Nach didn't notice that Lucius was edging himself towards his sword again. Suddenly, he flung a spell that shined brightly, blinding Nach for a second. He snatched his sword and swung it at her. At the last second, Nach twisted so that she wasn't impaled. Instead, a gash appeared on her side. She fell to her knees as she clutched her side, panting. Lucius struggled to his feet, exhausted. He triumphantly smirked at her.

The group of kids were staring, knowing that Nach was going to be killed. Harry glanced at John, terrified that he might lose it and try to save her without thinking. Instead, on John's face was a small smile. John said softly, "Here it comes…"

And then chaos happened.

Sand exploded from the small pouch at Nach's hip. It sprayed out and forced the Eaters back. Tendrils of it wrapped around Lucius' legs, preventing him from fleeing. Shock appeared on Lucius' face, then fear, as more sand swirled behind Nach. It spread out once more, and dissipated to reveal a young man with bright red hair and strange, foreign clothes. Surrounding him were more young men and women, also dressed strangely. The boy's eyes, dark rings surrounding them, narrowed dangerously. Then he raised his hand slowly towards Lucius. As he did, sand wrapped around Lucius. He began to clench his hand shut when Nach touched his leg. He looked down. She shook her head. He blinked, then slowly lowered his hand. Nach stared at Lucius, and he suddenly sank to his knees and collapsed, unconscious.

The sand flowed past Nach into a gourd on the boy's back. He reached down and gently lifted Nach in his arms, bridal style. He said to her calmly, "I told you that I should come."

Nach grinned cheerfully. "But Gaara! I knew you'd be waiting in case anything happened, so I knew I'd be fine!" With this, she gave him a peck on the cheek.

As the boy slightly blushed, a girl with light pink hair strode over to Nach and said briskly, "Here, I'll heal you." She reached out, and as her hand glowed slightly, the wound on Nach's side healed.

The Hogwarts kids stared in shock. They were all thinking, 'What the hell is going on? Who are these people?'

John strode over and said, "Good to see that you all made it alright."

A blond boy in orange clothes shouted, "And why wouldn't we make it! We're ninja! We can do anything! Believe it!" (A/N sorry…couldn't resist.)

John continued conversationally, "You know, this really isn't your fight…I mean, we're in a completely different situation than-" But he was interrupted by the blond kid and a darker haired boy with a giant dog yelling together, "What the hell are you talking about! Any fight is our fight!"

A taller man who wore a strange jumpsuit and a hat that looked like it had cat-ears said, "I agree. Any fight is our fight!" The woman beside him with spiky blond hair nodded. The rest of the group, which included a young man with dark hair and sunglasses, young woman with dark blue hair and light purple eyes; a young man with black eyes and hair the spiked up in the back like a duck's butt; a woman with long blonde hair which flopped over her eye, young man with a ponytail that looked like a pineapple, and young man who was a little heavier than most; a woman with two buns in her hair, a man with long black hair and light purple eyes, and a man with a bowl haircut and round eyes; all nodded as well.

Nach grinned at them cheekily and said, "Well, since you're here. You can help. All the creepy guys in the hoods and masks are bad. All the people who are fighting them are good. Have a nice time!"

With that, the group separated in seconds, the men and women moving in groups of two or three and rushing to the aid of the Order. The red-headed boy gently set Nach on her feet and said that he would remain with her.

Suddenly, Harry asked, "Nach? Where's the bag of Horcruxes?"

She grinned at him and said, "A friend's holding onto them while he stays with the dragons. He's dismantling them as we speak. I thought it'd be safer to leave him out of harm's way while he works." Harry nodded and sighed in relief.

Nach then turned to the red-head and said, "Alright Gaara, We've got to go get Snake-face, got it?" The man nodded, and if you looked closely, you could see his mouth twitch slightly in a smile.

As the two took off, John flicked his lighter and burned the surrounding Eaters. Then he turned to the stunned group and said calmly, "Meet my sister's boyfriend. He's a ninja, as are the others. They kick ass. Let's get back to work."

Things were turning very quickly against the Death Eaters and Voldemort. They were vastly outnumbered and their enemies were determined to win and protect the wizarding and Muggle worlds.

Injuries on the Order's side were diminishing rapidly and those harmed were soon being brought back to the battle, healed and eager to continue the fight.

The kid fighters noticed the pink-haired girl rapidly healing the injured and that her punches and kicks inflicted far more damage on the enemy then expected. Basically, she was sending Death Eaters flying and cracking earth quite earnestly. The duck-butt boy was blowing fire and defending the pink-haired girl while she healed. The blond-haired loudmouth was also defending, and he was creating multiples of himself to go out and kick butt. The purple-eyed pair was swiftly dispatching enemies, as the bowl-headed boy flew around punching the daylights out of people. The girl with the buns carried a scroll that brought weapons out of it to throw at the Death Eaters. The sunglasses boy carried bugs with him that attacked the Death Eaters and left them lying on the ground, sucked dry of magical ability. The boy with the dog was spinning rapidly, slamming into the Eaters and sending them flying and knocking them out easily. The girl with the spiky blonde hair carried a fan that blew away her attackers and cut them, knocking them unconscious. The boy with the cat ears hat summoned puppets that fought fiercely, cutting and poisoning the Death Eaters. Nach and her boyfriend were working swiftly; he was sending his sand out to protect those of the Order from spells, as well as crushing some Eaters with his sand. Nach was rapidly moving from Eater to Death Eater, using her Mutant ability to teleport and the telepathy to knock them out or kill them.

The fighters for the Light were rapidly nearing the center of the circle where Voldemort was hiding. Harry urgently hoped that Nach's friend finished destroying the Horcruxes soon, before they had to fight Voldemort.

Voldemort had few followers left defending him, but no one was attacking him. The Order hung back, waiting for some sort of signal before they attacked him. The signal came when the dragon that had carried Nach faithfully landed near to where Harry and his group were standing. A figure climbed down and walked towards Nach. It held a sack that seemed to be holding multiple objects. The cloaked figure stopped near her, and held the sack towards her. She stepped back and nodded at the figure. It seemed to hesitate, before turning and facing Voldemort. Voldemort stared at the figure, feeling something familiar about it and feeling that something terrible was going to happen.

Suddenly the figure spoke. "Your time is at an end, Lord Voldemort," said a soft silky voice. Harry and the other Hogwarts kids' jaws dropped. It couldn't be…

The figure pulled back the hood. Severus Snape stood, holding the bag of Horcruxes that Nach had collected at the risk of her life. He smirked, and turning the bag over, dropped out several objects. First was the diary of Tom Riddle, with the hole in it caused by the basilisk's fang and venom, next was the ring of Marvolo, his grandfather, the locket of his mother, Hufflepuff's cup, and a jeweled necklace that must have belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw.

Harry stared in horror. They had lost. Snape, Voldemort's most loyal follower, had the Horcruxes. Then he slowly began to notice the triumphant look on Snape's face, and the growing surprise and horror on Voldemort's. He took a closer look at the objects. Of course the ring and the diary were destroyed, but the others?

He began to notice that the locket was smoking slightly and had a small hole through the center, Hufflepuff's cup was held only together by the fact that it was metal, there was a sharp, melted crack down the side of it, and the necklace had burn marks covering it and many of the links were broken. He realized that Snape had done it. He had destroyed the Horcruxes.

But there was still Nagini, who was by Voldemort's side, and didn't look like she was going to leave anytime soon.

Suddenly Nach crouched and let out a soft whistle. Nagini's tongue flickered out as her eyes turned towards Nach. Silence reigned over the battlefield as people stared in shock that the fight was almost over.

Nach said to the snake, "Come on kiddo. Time to come back to your true owner. Come here." The snake's eyes flickered.

Voldemort shouted, "Nagini! Stay here! I am your master!"

Nach kept her eyes focused on Nagini's. "Come on girl. Don't you remember me? Come here so you can rest. It must be tough, living with a piece of someone's soul in you. I can make the pain go away, okay? So come here."

The snake seemed to hesitate, then shifted towards the kneeling girl. Voldemort, stunned into silence, watched as his last Horcrux slithered towards a young woman he didn't know. Then, he began to shake as long-forgotten memories shifted inside him, and a being that he thought gone began to struggle to the surface of his mind.

Nagini hesitated again, shifting her gaze towards the group of the Order. Nach said, "Don't worry girl. It won't be them who put you out of your misery. It'll be me, okay? I'll make it painless." The snake slithered towards her faster.

Reaching Nach, Nagini stopped, wrapping her tail gently around one of the girl's legs. Nach reached out her hands to Nagini, who trustingly placed her head in them. Nach whispered softly, "Good girl." Then, swiftly, she twisted her hands, snapping the snake's neck. The snake went limp. The last Horcrux was gone.

Voldemort let out an unearthly shriek, and screaming, "_Sectumsempra_!" pointed his wand towards Nach. Before anyone could move, blood spurted from Nach's chest.

Gaara and the other ninjas jumped forward to catch her as she fell, stepping around the large snake's body. As they reached her, her eyes flew open. They were a brilliant glowing blue, the whites in her eyes gone.

Harry and the other Hogwarts kids and the Mutants stared as the battlefield flashed and then vanished, leaving them standing all alone with the ninja group in pitch black.

There was only silence, all sounds of battle gone in seconds.

Suddenly, John swore. "Damnit, I hate it when this happens. It's so eerie."

He blinked at the baffled looks on the Hogwarts group's faces and sighed, preparing himself to explain. "When Nach gets hurt now, her Mutant ability creates a defense mechanism that effectively immobilizes everyone surrounding her. It lasts a few seconds, but it feels longer. Most people just sit in darkness during it, but sometimes, if you're in a large group, like we are," here he gestured at the large group of wizards, Mutants, and ninja, "often times you end up seeing something. You see parts of her memories. This usually only happens if you actually know her or are interested in her past. I suppose that's what's going to happen to us."

Okey-dokey! That was fun! Once again, I have put up all that I've written! yay!

For those who don't know Naruto, it's an anime that is loads of fun to watch if you like fighting and ninjas. Sorry if you don't understand it, but it's not an important factor in this story, so I suppose it's okay, like not knowing anything about Mutants is okay for this fic as well...

Hope y'alls enjoyed, and PLEASE REVIEW! I really want to know what you think, okay?

Have a nice day/night/whatever and SMILE!

Tam


	7. Memory Lane

AHHHHH! Oh my gosh, I'm updating! I feel really awful for not doing it sooner,, but school caught me and wouldn't let me go until last night. I'm free! So, yeah, this is most of the memory part of Nach's past. Enjoy!!

Oh yeah, Disclaimer: I no own Harry Potter, X-Men, or Naruto, although I love them all. They belong to their creators. But Nach/Sasha belongs to me, so its cool. And her mom too. And the plot of this wacky story...

Chapter 7: Memory Lane

This is a review of what happened last chapter:

Voldemort let out an unearthly shriek, and screaming, "_Sectumsempra_!" pointed his wand towards Nach. Before anyone could move, blood spurted from Nach's chest.

Gaara and the other ninjas jumped forward to catch her as she fell, stepping around the large snake's body. As they reached her, her eyes flew open. They were a brilliant glowing blue, the whites in her eyes gone.

Harry and the other Hogwarts kids and the Mutants stared as the battlefield flashed and then vanished, leaving them standing all alone with the ninja group in pitch black.

Suddenly, John swore. "Damnit, I hate it when this happens. It's so eerie."

He blinked at the baffled looks on the Hogwarts group's faces and sighed, preparing himself to explain. "When Nach gets hurt now, her Mutant ability creates a defense mechanism that effectively immobilizes everyone surrounding her. It lasts a few seconds, but it feels longer. Most people just sit in darkness during it, but sometimes, if you're in a large group, like we are," here he gestured at the large group of wizards, Mutants, and ninja, "often times you end up seeing something. You see parts of her memories. This usually only happens if you actually know her or are interested in her past. I suppose that's what's going to happen to us."

-Now the new part start's...- Enjoy please!

The group stood uncertainly, excepting the Mutants and ninjas, who seemed to have gone through this before. Then, slowly, the darkness around them started to ease into grey, and part of the dark became transparent, like a window into a different world. John looked at it, then walked over and reached his hand out. The Hogwarts kids gasped as his hand went two-dimensional, almost a part of the screen. He glanced back and shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it," he said. "This is like a Pensieve, so I suppose you sort of fade into it."

The group glanced around, not seeing any difference in the scenery around them other than a screen, and then stepped through it all together; into Nach's memories.

The group looked around curiously; they seemed to be in a metallic room. John and the other Mutants smiled in recognition of their school's inner rooms, and waited for whatever was going to happen to happen.

"Sasha, you do remember that you're supposed to go to see Dumbledore?" The group whirled as they saw Professor Xavier roll up to a younger Sasha, who looked horrified.

"Oh no! I forgot! I'm gonna be late!" She looked panicked. "I'm supposed to meet with McGonagall too, ohhhh, they're gonna be so mad! Hey, I know, why don't I go back a few minutes, then I won't be late!"

"Wait Sasha! That's not a good ide-" The professor looked horrified as Sasha disappeared from view, having already teleported, taking the group with her.

Harry and the others looked around at their new location, recognizing it as Hogwarts. But, it wasn't the Hogwarts of four years ago. It seemed different, somehow. Apparently, the Sasha of the memories seemed to agree. She looked around cautiously, and then something seemed to dawn on her.

"Ummm…what was it that Dumbledore told me?" She furrowed her brow in thought. "Oh. Right! Never try to teleport back in time; it's a very imprecise form of travel, so only try to go to the same time…ah. Shit. What time is this?" She looked around frantically, as if trying to find a calendar. Seemingly giving up, she started walking towards the headmaster's office, muttering, "Well, I haven't anywhere else to go…"

The group followed her, the Hogwarts kids starting to have a suspicion about just what time Sasha was in. When they arrived at the stairs, they climbed on after Sasha, and followed her up to the office. She knocked on the door timidly, probably terrified at who might be behind it.

"Who is it?" A voice that was easily recognizable to all who had ever gone to Hogwarts rang out, and Hermione covered her mouth, holding back a cry. Albus Dumbledore opened the door, looking younger and happier than he had before he had died.

Draco froze, not seeing Sasha step into the room and fidget nervously. He was only focused on Dumbledore, about to panic, he remembered the last moments of Dumbledore's life, when he himself had been meaning to kill him. He remembered lowering his wand, then Snape coming in and yelling out the now hated words in Draco's mind, those of the killing curse. Draco backed up from the door, meaning to run as far as he could from this sight, when Harry grabbed his arm, pulling him out of his reverie.

Draco stared at Harry, terrified. What was he going to do to him? Harry had suspected him all the past year of planning something, and had almost caught him on multiple occasions. Harry said only, "We all know you weren't the one to do the killing, so stop it. I want to know what's going on."

At these words, Draco turned his attention back to the scene from a memory. Sasha was currently quickly explaining her plight to Dumbledore, although everyone noticed that she left out her last name and the fact that she was supposed to be meeting his future self instead of this one. She made it seem as if she was a Mutant student who knew of Dumbledore, and was playing around with her abilities and ended up here.

When she finished, Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. He asked slowly, "You are unable to return to your own time?" Sasha shook her head, explaining that she had used up her mental energy and didn't know when she would have the capacity to take herself back home. Dumbledore nodded and continued, "I see. I suppose you will have to stay here. Of course, you can't hide out, so you will be a transfer student from Salem Academy for Witches. You came here on a foreign exchange trip…some days earlier than the school began. Does that suit you?"

Sasha nodded and said, "I know some spells, but I don't have a wand."

Dumbledore took that into consideration, and said, "We can enroll you in classes that do not involve wands. Therefore, you won't have to worry about it." Sasha smiled, seemingly not so nervous.

Ron noticed Gaara smiling slightly. "What's funny?" he asked, confused.

Gaara blinked, turned his gaze to the other red-headed boy, and said slowly, "I met Sasha after this. She was completely different than this girl. She was much better at coming up with fake backgrounds, for one."

Blaise asked curiously, "She made up a story when she first met you?"

The blond boy, now known as Naruto, so the author doesn't need to repeat herself, said loudly, laughing, "Sure did! It was such a whopper! We all believed her at first, but she told Gaara the truth later."

The pineapple haired boy, now called Shikamaru, continued, "She told us that she was from another village, traveling so she could earn some money for her mother. She worked at a restaurant that we all went to a lot."

Duck-butt haired boy, whose name is Sasuke, said, "I only met her a few months later, of course."

Hermione asked, "Why? Weren't all of you friends?"

Sasuke said nothing, only glowered a little. The ninjas were silent, and then Sakura, the pink-haired girl, said softly, "Sasuke was a traitor to our village during the time Sasha was with us."

Draco stared at Sasuke. "Really?" he asked. The dark-haired boy nodded.

John grinned widely. "Well," he said cheerfully, "It looks like every one of our groups had a traitor who returned to the good side. Weird coincidence, isn't it?"

Ginny asked, "Who was the traitor in your group?"

John smiled more, then said, if possible, more cheerfully, "Me!"

The Hogwarts kids stared at John, dumbfounded. Nach's own brother had been a traitor? No way! He was way too nice. The boy smiled at them, and continued, "Only for a little while though. Sis hadn't gotten her Mutant powers yet, and when she did and found out about me going to the dark side, she came after me. It was rather painful." He smiled again, but Blaise saw that he seemed a little sad.

Pansy interrupted the confessions by saying, "Hey guys! Nach's leaving! Let's go!" The group waited until Sasha finished walking through them and went down the stairs, and then followed her.

The hallway suddenly faded away, and the group stood still, wondering where they would end up this time.

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The air cleared, and they found themselves once again in Hogwarts. The group looked around curiously, then saw Sasha walking down the hall quickly.

"Hey Sasha! Wait up!" An auburn-haired girl ran down the hall after Sasha, a blonde girl and a mousy-brown haired girl following.

Sasha turned towards the group and grinned. "Hey guys! What's up?" The three girls caught up to Sasha, and paused, catching their breath.

The blonde haired girl said quickly, trying not to laugh, "Lily got the Gryffindor boys to agree to go to Hogsmeade with us for New Year's, Alice got Frank to agree to go with her, and I got Lucius to say yes!"

Sasha clapped her hands with glee. "Of course, none of our boys know that we're inviting the others, right?" The other girls grinned and nodded.

The Hogwarts kids stared as they watched Narcissa, Lily, and Alice talk happily together about how they were getting the Marauders, Frank Longbottom, and Lucius Malfoy to agree to go to Hogsmeade for a party. The boys looked in shock at each other as the implications of these simple statements became clear. The four girls, all from different houses, were apparently best friends.

Lily piped up, "Hey, Sasha, have you talked to Snape yet?" The Hogwarts group jumped and blinked. Snape, why would Lily Evans care about him?

Sasha smiled. "Yup! He said that as the responsible sibling, he has to go to make sure I don't get in trouble." The four girls laughed, and Narcissa commented, "It's so funny how he's completely taken care of you. It's as if you two really are siblings. The only way we can see that he isn't a stick-in-the-mud is when he's around you!"

Sasha shrugged. "As long as the Gryffindor boys don't get nasty, I'm sure this will go fine. If they do, us girls will gang up on them, right?" The other three nodded firmly.

The ninjas followed the four girls swiftly, apparently quite interested in what their future friend was planning. The Hogwarts kids continued to be in shock, Neville from seeing his mother sane, Harry from seeing his mother, and Draco from seeing his mother laughing and enjoying herself. The Mutants followed the ninjas, also quite interested in this new event. Or they could just have been enjoying the show, but then, it's hard to understand the motivation to follow your friend's past self around.

Once again, the hallway faded, and quickly the scenery changed to snow and ice, and a group of young wizards and witches walking down the familiar pathway to Hogsmeade. The kids followed quickly.

They could clearly see the four Marauders walking together, although Peter seemed somewhat withdrawn, which could be explained by the fact that Sasha was walking close behind him, with Severus Snape next to her. Behind them, Lily and Alice walked with Frank, discussing the advantages of using Cheering Charms during exams. Lucius and Narcissa walked in the back, clearly content just to be together. Draco stared as his father gently grasped Narcissa's hand, entwined their fingers and then brought her hand to his lips, making her blush. Instead of seeming smug, the young Lucius Malfoy blushed slightly as well, with a small smile flitting across his youthful face. Draco had never seen a look like that in his entire sixteen years around his father.

The group walked into the Three Broomsticks, and the young Marauders immediately went and got drinks for everyone, including Snape. The butterbeer looked slightly more potent than usual, as it was New Year's, and soon the group of boys and girls was laughing and dancing, waiting for midnight to strike. Well, except for Snape and Sasha, who didn't drink any butterbeer and were in a very intense conversation, judging by the looks on their faces as they spoke quickly to each other.

Lily and James were currently doing a messy tango and laughing hysterically, while Remus was dragged around in circles by Sirius, albeit reluctantly. Peter was talking happily with an old warlock who was sitting in a corner, apparently about Quidditch. Narcissa and Lucius were dancing slowly together, whispering to each other. Alice and Frank were waltzing slightly unsteadily around the cleared dance floor, laughing and talking loudly. The group was clearly enjoying themselves, and was also clearly amusing the other customers, as well as Madam Rosmerta.

The Hogwarts Sextet, Mutants, and ninjas watched the scene silently, and all were smiling. Well, except for Gaara, the purple-eyed man whose name was Neji, and the boy with sunglasses whose name was Shino, but they were happy. Those three just don't show emotion very much, but that's irrelevant to this story, so let's put that aside.

The scene slowly faded away when the clock struck midnight and the crowd cheered loudly, with Sirius's and James' voices echoing loudly above the rest.

---------------------------------------------------------------

An unknown hallway appeared, and the memory-travelers watched as the Marauders, Frank, Lily, Alice, Narcissa, and Lucius walked down a hall together, all looking immensely tired. The group was talking about New Year's, which led the memory-travelers to assume that it was the morning after.

James asked, "But where's Snape? Wasn't he in your dorm?"

Lucius shook his head. "I woke up with a headache present and Severus absent. I guess he left early or something."

Narcissa said thoughtfully, "But I remember Sasha and Severus discussing how they were going to get all of us back to our dorms without getting caught. I distinctly remember them agreeing to take the Gryffindors up together, since there was a majority of you in our group, then taking Alice back to Hufflepuff, and the rest of us back to Slytherin. We all ended up in the right dorms, so Severus should have been there…"

The group shrugged and continued down the hallway. Sirius suddenly asked, "How did Sasha and Snape know all the passwords?"

Alice said patiently, "Because we girls made Sasha the designated caretaker, since she's the youngest, and we told her the passwords to our houses. She told us that she would tell Snape them too, so he could take care of the boys and she the girls, since neither of them planned on drinking."

Sirius said loudly, "He was in our dorm?! No way! Nothing was stolen or messed up!"

Then girls all glared at him, as did James and Remus. Lily said exasperatedly, "You idiot. Why would he do that? Severus isn't like that. I know you would take advantage of the situation, but he wouldn't, which is part of the reason we chose to make him the designated caretaker with Sasha." James nodded in agreement, and added, "Besides, Snape wasn't the one to instigate the whole rivalry. I hate to admit it, but that was me and you guys." Remus nodded tiredly.

The group stopped in front of an unknown doorway and knocked on the door. When no one answered, Lily knocked harder and said loudly, "C'mon Sasha! We know you're tired, but you have to get up!"

The group stared when Snape opened the door and glared blearily at them all. He moaned tiredly, "Can't you leave us alone? We were up until three in the morning getting you all back to bed, and then we actually went to bed at four-thirty."

Lucius asked slowly, "Uh, Severus? Why are you in Sasha's room?"

Severus stared at him and said slowly and patiently, "I am not in Sasha's room; I am in her living room. We stayed up talking about the effects of the Youth potion, and I was too tired to go back to the dorm, so I slept on her couch. I'll go wake her up." With that, the boy went back into the room, leaving the door open. The group of Hogwarts students and the memory-travelers peered in.

Sasha's living area was like a flat. There was a small living room, where there was clearly a pile of parchment notes on the coffee table and the couch had blankets and a pillow on it. Then, there was a door that Snape had just walked through which was clearly Sasha's bedroom. The group heard Snape say, "Hey, wake up. Everyone's waiting for us."

Sasha's voice answered back, "I don' wanna. I'm still sleepy. Go away…"

Snape said, exasperated, "Fine. Go back to sleep. But don't come crying to me when you're hungry from missing breakfast."

At that, Sasha cried, "Breakfast?! Why didn't you say so! I'm up, I'm up, let's go already!" The girl came running out of the room and started out the door, Severus following patiently behind.

Lucius threw out a hand to stop the young woman from running down the hallway. "Sasha," he said slowly. "You're still in your pajamas."

Sasha glanced down. She was wearing comfortable flannel pants and a tank top, as well as being barefoot. She went back into the room and came out with a flannel top, though still barefoot. "There," she said, "I'm ready to go now!" She once again started out the door. When Lucius started to protest her lack of proper clothing, Severus stopped him with a shake of his head.

"Don't bother," the group heard him mutter. "Once she starts thinking about food, she's not going to listen to you anymore. I figured that out when she visited my parents with me. It's not worth arguing about."

Lucius blinked at him, and then nodded slowly.

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The hallway faded out, and Sasha's room appeared slowly. Sasha was quickly walking around the room and towards the door. She opened it, looked at the hallway around it, and closed the door and muttered softly. The door shimmered and disappeared.

Walking towards the couch, Sasha grabbed a tea tray off of the mantle, and put it down on the coffee table. Sitting in the armchair, she swiftly poured tea and handed it to the girl sitting across from her on the couch. Draco gasped at the change in his mother's features. In what seemed to be only a few months, she had changed from carefree to seemingly drained of life.

Narcissa grasped the tea cup tightly and hiccupped, her eyes red from crying. Sasha gazed at her and asked softly, "Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Narcissa stiffened and clamped her lips together, tears falling from her eyes.

Sasha furrowed her brows and said sympathetically, "Lucy got the Mark." It was a statement, not a question. Narcissa's eyes flew to Sasha, and she burst into sobs.

Sasha moved over next to Narcissa and rubbed her back, murmuring softly, "Cissy, you knew it was going to happen. What's wrong? Did he hurt you?"

Narcissa shook her head and whispered, "He would never hurt me. But, it's just…it's not Lucius anymore. He's changed. He doesn't kiss me or tell me he loves me anymore. It's as if part of him died that night. It's horrible."

Sasha sighed and said sadly, "That's what the Mark does. When the wearer makes their first kill, the real curse of the Mark is activated. The branded person, unless they have a very deep love of someone, loses that ability to show their love. Lucy will never be the same man he was. Don't blame yourself Cissy."

Narcissa turned her eyes towards the brown-haired girl at her side and asked, voice breaking, "Does he still love me? Or am I dooming myself to a lonely marriage?"

Sasha cocked her head at Narcissa. "You're marrying him?"

Narcissa nodded. "He asked me…on New Year's. He told me he loved me and-" She burst into sobs again. "And that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. And now, now he's gone! It's not Lucius anymore! It's some man who is obsessed. All he talks about now is the Dark Lord, and how he's going to bring honor to the Malfoy name. It's horrible."

Sasha said slowly, "So call off the marriage. You deserve to be with someone who loves you."

Narcissa shrugged broken-heartedly. "I don't want to. I still love him. That's what matters, right? And…and sometimes he still seems to care. When he thought I was sleeping while we were in the Common Room together, he brushed my hair back and kissed my forehead, then shook me and told me that it was improper for the wife-to-be of a Malfoy to let herself be seen sleeping in front of commoners."

Sasha watched Narcissa silently, sadness in her eyes. "If that's what you want." She whispered. "Just, don't lose your heart, okay Cissy? Don't let your heart die. If you feel that Lucy still loves you, show him how much you care. If you do that, his heart won't die completely. Promise me, don't forget how to love."

Narcissa whispered, "I swear." Sasha held up her pinky and grinned, saying, "Pinky promise?" Narcissa laughed slightly, and entwined her pinky with Sasha's, saying clearly, "Pinky promise, silly."

The two giggled, and Narcissa suddenly asked worriedly, "You won't tell the others?" Sasha shook her head. "Not a soul. Your secret's safe with me."

Narcissa smiled and said, "And yours with me."

Sasha cocked her head. Narcissa smirked and said, "You're not from the Salem Academy for Witches. Your name doesn't show up in their records, and it also doesn't show up in the birth records. You don't exist, Miss Sasha." Sasha straightened up and looked at Narcissa warily. Narcissa continued softly, "You went back further than you intended, huh?" Sasha nodded, and grinned in spite of herself. Narcissa reiterated, "Your secret's safe with me, pinky promise." The two grinned at each other, knowing their secrets were safe.

The memory faded, and the girls in all the memory-traveler groups wiped their eyes, while the boys shifted uncomfortably, glancing at Draco. Well, except for Gaara, Shino, and Neji, but they're special cases.

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The inside of Dumbledore's office appeared, with Dumbledore, Narcissa, and Sasha present. The three were talking quickly, and Narcissa was wiping her eyes.

Sasha turned to Narcissa and hugged her tightly. "I'm going home, okay? Tell Severus the truth after I'm gone, and don't forget about me, okay?"

Narcissa smiled through her tears. "Like I'd ever forget about you? I'll keep in touch with the other girls, and try to keep the boys in line, though Severus and Remus barely need it. And Alice takes care of Frank, so don't worry about him."

Sasha smiled and waved goodbye as Narcissa left the office, wiping her tears. Sasha turned to Dumbledore and smiled. She said softly, "Sorry for any trouble I caused."

Dumbledore smiled back. "Don't worry about it. On the contrary, I think I've seen the most House unity this year than I ever have in all my years. I should be thanking you."

Sasha grinned, and then glanced out the window. She straightened up and grabbed her bag. She said, "Here comes your owl, so I'd better be going."

Dumbledore looked from the window towards the girl, confused. "What is so important about this owl?"

Sasha shook her head. "Read it yourself, old man. You'll get a nice surprise. See you in sixteen years!" With that, she faded away. However, the memory-travelers remained, looking around curiously.

Dumbledore took the letter from the owl, and handing it a few Knuts, sat at his desk to read the letter. He opened it and curiously began reading it. He paused, and then softly read it out loud, clearly enough that the travelers could hear him.

"_Hey gramps! Congratulations! You're now a great-great-great grandfather! The twins' names are Sasha Celeste Riddle and John Brian Riddle. Tom's overjoyed, but also a bit worried for them, with him being possessed and all, you know? But I'm just happy. Tom, of course, is planning on getting them pets already. He's so excited, but I'm trying to get him to wait until they can choose them themselves. I think both of them will be either magical or Mutants. I couldn't care either way, they're both beautiful! _

_Love always,_

_Bridget_

The old wizard dropped the letter onto his desk, and started to laugh, muttering to himself, "Pulled the wool right over my eyes. Amazing. She's just like her dad."

Then, the darkness reclaimed the travelers, just as Harry suddenly yelled, "Riddle?! Riddle?!" He pointed at John in shock. "Your father's Voldemort!?" The taller boy grinned and nodded, and added cheerfully, "And I'm Dumbledore's great-great-whatever grandson!"

END! PLEASE READ THIS!!!! PRETTY PLEASE WITH CHERRIES AND SWEETS ON TOP!

Review if y'alls want the next chappie soon, even though I can't promise anything. I think it will have Sasha's memory of returning to the future, and then the end of the battle. Things do get explained though, so that's a relief. Now y'alls know her heritage! Hahaha! This was a good chapter to write.

Right then. It's late and I'm tired. Good night or good day, depends on when or if you read this.

Have a nice day or night and SMILE!

And mucho thanks to Libaka-chan for betaing for me. I needed it! She got work for the first time in forever! Yay!

Buh-bye!

Tam


	8. Hope Springs Eternal psh right

Ah...it's nice to be back...And so, I return, tired and hopeful for more reviews...

Anyhoo, I'm doing my very utmost best to finish this fic soon so I can move on, but I would like to know if you alls would like me to do the two prequels I have planned for this, which go into Nach/Sasha's past. I'm willing to write if people ask, but I personally know the stories and so therefore have no urge to write them. So yeah. pretty pleasies, REVIEW!!!! -hee-

Disclaimer: psh. I don't own HP, X-men, or Naruto, 'tho I do own the plot, story, and Nach and her past. Yeah...enjoy.

Chapter 8: Hope Springs Eternal (psh right)

The Hogwarts kids stared at John in shock, and then Pansy blurted, "Ew! But Dumbledore's old!" This easily broke some of the growing tension, and the group chuckled softly.

John grinned at Pansy, and said, "Well, you see, when Albus, er…Gramps got married, he wasn't that old. So it really isn't as gross as you think. Besides, Granny died a long time ago, during the Grindelwald attacks. Gramps just took care of his children and grandchildren after that. Then, after all the kids either grew up or moved away from England, he became headmaster of Hogwarts."

Pansy shuddered. "Doesn't matter, just the idea that the headmaster would ever think like that about a woman is just disgusting."

John smiled thoughtfully, "That's sort of true, but then, I thought the idea of sex was utterly disgusting when I first learned about it, so who knows." Draco snorted at Pansy's blushing, and Harry gently patted her arm.

"You know, Pansy," Harry said, "Talking about sex isn't that gross. I learned about it when I was ten."

Pansy stared at him horrified. "Why?"

Harry shrugged, "It was part of the curriculum, Sex Ed and all. Personally, I think that they should teach it at Hogwarts and the other magical schools too. I've heard way too many stupid theories about pregnancy and sex for me not to worry about the future of the wizarding world."

John's voice broke in on this intriguing conversation. "Look, I know this is fascinating, but we're still stuck in my sister's mind, so I think there is still more for us to see." The group started glancing around curiously, searching for another screen or door.

"There!" Sakura's voice rang out as she pointed to a white screen nearby the group. One by one, the group slipped through the portal, not noticing the figure silently following them.

The group peered around, then recognized Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore now looked like the one of four years ago instead of from their parents' time.

Suddenly, Nach appeared. She looked around, saw Dumbledore, then immediately asked, "Am I in trouble?"

The Mutants roared with laughter, making the ninjas and the Hogwarts kids jump. They were however able to calm themselves in time to hear Dumbledore's amused 'no.'

Nach sighed, relieved. She then asked, "Is John mad at me?" Dumbledore shook his head. "Oh. How long have I been gone?"

Dumbledore smiled and answered, "Less than a day. I told John and the others not to worry, although Charles was extremely worried about you anyway. However, I suppose you want to know what happened to your friends after you left?"

Nach nodded warily. At Dumbledore's gesture, she sat in one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. Dumbledore sat himself down, and began to speak slowly.

"James and Lily married soon after you left. They had a son, and then, a year after he was born, Voldemort killed them." Nach closed her eyes, her face filled with both shame and pain. "Sirius was placed in Azkaban for the betrayal of the two, although I do not personally believe he was the traitor. Peter apparently died, killed by Sirius. Remus is alive, although society has not been kind to him these past years, on account of his affliction." Here Nach's eyes snapped open, and she looked furious. "Alice and Frank married, and had a son, but they were tortured after Voldemort was defeated by some of his remaining Death Eaters, and driven insane. Their son currently lives with his grandmother." Here the Hogwarts kids stared at Neville, who looked at his feet, saddened. Luna reached over and took his hand, comforting him. Draco went white went he realized the multitude of cruel things he had said inadvertently about insanity. He apologized softly to Neville, ashamed. "Narcissa and Lucius married, and Narcissa began spying on the Death Eaters after her son was born. Severus joined the Death Eaters two years after graduating-" Here Dumbledore was interrupted by Nach jumping up, yelling "WHAT?!" He waved her back to her seat, and continued speaking. "However, you changed what might have been. He was never in actuality loyal to Voldemort; he joined at his insistence and became a spy. Unfortunately, he heard the prophecy about Voldemort and told him, without realizing that it was aimed at four of his closest friends at the time. The Potters and the Longbottoms both had sons that were candidates for the destruction of Voldemort. Severus had become very good friends with both Lily and James, and cared deeply about Alice and Frank. When he learned of what he had caused, he was desperate to find some way of saving them. Unfortunately, the most he could do was to remain here at Hogwarts and also help me create wards for the protection of the boys. His, I freely admit, are far more powerful than mine are. On the more humorous side, all of these children of your friends have come to Hogwarts. Narcissa's son is in Slytherin, and both the Potters' son and the Longbottoms' son are in Gryffindor. Severus acts as their teacher, and I personally believe takes great pleasure in trying to get the Potter boy to kill him." Nach smiled, and shook her head. "I believe he sees the boy's father in him and is trying to convince himself that the boy is not in fact James. Unfortunately, he might succeed in getting his head hexed off if he does not desist, but he hasn't quite realized that yet."

At this, a voice interrupted, "Really Headmaster, do you have to embarrass me so in front of my sister?"

Nach spun around, as did the memory-traveling group, and stared at the figure in the doorway of Dumbledore's office. Severus Snape stood there, raising an eyebrow at his former headmaster. Nach shrieked and jumped forward, yelling happily, "Sev!"

Snape poked her in the forehead and said snidely, "Took you long enough to turn up again."

She grinned and said, "Yeah, sorry about that. But you did get to meet me as a kid though." He paused, blinked, then slowly chuckled as he realized that he had, indeed, met Nach as a child during one of her few stays at Hogwarts. Nach threw up her hands and said loudly, "Whatever. Anyway, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" She bellowed, poking Snape in the chest. "JOINING VOLDEMORT WITH THE SOLE PURPOSE OF SPYING! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED, OR WORSE, SO HELP ME!" She was about to continue yelling at Snape, when he stopped her by hugging her.

The Hogwarts kids stared in shock as they saw their Potions Professor actually smiling and being nice to someone. Snape looked happy, which was even weirder. Or is it more weird? Whatever. Anyway, they were shocked.

Snape said cheerfully, "Well, I sure missed that. Getting yelled at for being stupid, honestly, only Minerva's done that in the last sixteen years. Well, other than Dumbledore, anyway." Nach laughed and hugged him tighter. Snape continued, "I missed you as well. Do you realize that when you left, I started panicking? One minute you were there, then it was as if you had never existed, which, of course, after Cissy explained the situation to me, made perfect sense. You left so suddenly, I was in shock for a bit. I take it that you were born that day? That's why you left so quickly?"

Nach nodded. "I forgot it was my birthday until the last minute. I didn't know what would happen if there were suddenly two me's in this world. It might explode, or worse." Snape rolled his eyes.

"You could've warned me though."

"I wanted to, but you were with Lucy, I wasn't about to go find you and tell you that I was from the future in front of him!"

"Ah, too true. That was one of the days when he was struggling unsuccessfully to get me to join the Death Eaters. He never learned that I wasn't interested…"

"Well, yeah. Lucy's always been a little dense. He is a male, after all."

"Sasha, sweetheart, I'm a male."

"Well, yes, but you're a special case. Except where Jimmy's kid is concerned, apparently."

"What do you mean?"

"Just admit that you want him to have a backbone already, okay? Honestly, the only thing you're dense about is your ability to actually feel concern for people."

"I will choose to ignore that."

"Go ahead, but you know it's true. You're wooooooorried about Jimmy's kid."

"No I'm not. I'm worried about Lily's kid. If he's anything like James he needs someone like Lily to make sure he doesn't kill himself by accident."

"I hate to admit it, but you've got a point there. Keep up the good work, mate, just don't make him kill you instead."

"…Deal."

Then, the memory faded out, Harry still staring in shock at the spot where Snape was standing. He said slowly, "There is no way what he did to me could be classified as concern."

John said cheerfully, "Actually, it could be. My mother's way of preparing my sister and I for the nasty world was by actively trying to kill us. Not seriously, of course, but she wanted to make sure we could defend ourselves, especially after having a father like Tom Riddle around for four years. So yeah, Sev's way of showing his concern by being an utter git is pretty plausible."

Harry blinked than shook his head and muttered, "I just pray for the children he might have. They're doomed."

John, the Mutants, and the ninjas laughed. The Hogwarts kids took him seriously.

Woo!!!! I have now posted! I am happy, but I wanna go to sleep!! I no like school!! WAHHHHHH!!!! Okay, I'm done now. PRETTY PLEASIES REVIEW! I WANT YOUR INPUT! AND ADVICE!!!!

So yeah, g'night, g'morning, and what-all,

SMILE!! We're almost done!!!

Tam, yup, that's me!


	9. The End of Tom Riddle

Summary: HBP compatible. The gang is stuck after Dumbly's death, and McGonagall decides to call in some rather odd friends of Dumbledore.

Hi everybody!!! It took me forever, but I broke my writer's block and now have a new chapter of Nachson for you all! Yay! Anywho, This is everything I've written, so I hope it's (1) enough and (2) good! I have another story idea, so I might stll take forever, but I promise to do my very best to finish this fic!!

Disclaimer: yeesh, if you think I own this you're crazier than I am! I don't own, except for Sasha/Nach and her mother. And the plot of this story.

Flashback to last chapter:

_Then, the memory faded out, Harry still staring in shock at the spot where Snape was standing. He said slowly, "There is no way what he did to me could be classified as concern."_

_John said cheerfully, "Actually, it could be. My mother's way of preparing my sister and I for the nasty world was by actively trying to kill us. Not seriously, of course, but she wanted to make sure we could defend ourselves, especially after having a father like Tom Riddle around for four years. So yeah, Sev's way of showing his concern by being an utter git is pretty plausible."_

_Harry blinked than shook his head and muttered, "I just pray for the children he might have. They're doomed."_

_John, the Mutants, and the ninjas laughed. The Hogwarts kids took him seriously._

New Chapter: The End of Tom Riddle_  
_

After watching more scenes from Nach's life, including when she lied through her teeth to the ninjas of Konohagakure and the leader of Sunagakure or Gaara, as well as when she was back at the Mutant school and actively playing pranks on the other students. The group was most amused when they saw her trying to guard against her mother's attack and slipping on a wet tile and dumping both her mother and herself into the school pool, then simply dunking her mother under and claiming she did it on purpose.

John sighed. "I'd forgotten how terribly amusing she can be."

Gaara glanced at him. "I hadn't." The other ninjas nodded in agreement.

Marie looked around eagerly. "So, where to next? The scene of Nach and Gaara's first kiss? That must be important to her! And to you too Ron."

Ron froze, then shifted slightly as Gaara's eyes bore through him. He muttered, "No thanks, I'm not particularly interested anymore." Gaara relaxed and his eyes slid off the poor young teen with raging hormones.

Shino, Sasuke, and Kiba all tensed and said together, "Ssh. We're not alone."

The group huddled together and glanced around furtively. John suddenly jerked and yelped. The others looked at him cautiously. He said, "Ow…Nach's pulling us back. That must be what you feel. Man, I hate being connected to her!"

The group of teens shuddered in unison, either at the thought of being connected by mind to Nach or because of the feeling of being pulled through frigid water, we may never know.

The darkness rapidly faded away into the light of the battlefield, and Sakura and the other ninjas dashed towards Nach as soon as they got their bearings back. The rest of the teens glanced around cautiously, seeing the other fighters on the battlefield slowly shaking their heads, as if trying to rid themselves of cobwebs. John looked at the sky and commented in awe, "The dragons are even being held." Glancing at his watch, he continued, "And it's only been seconds since we left."

The group turned their strangely stiff heads towards the ninjas, who were gently pulling Nach to her feet, who was rubbing her chest ruefully and grimacing as Sakura quickly wiped away the blood. Bobby raised his eyebrows and commented, "You are so lucky that you stole Logan's healing ability…" Nach crinkled her nose at him grouchily.

As one, the group turned to where Voldemort knelt, gasping for breath and twitching painfully. His followers lay sprawled on the ground, rubbing their heads and groaning. Mutters and questioning tones rose as people began to notice that Voldemort seemed to be fighting an inner battle, struggling against some unknown force.

Nach's eyes slid to John's, and he nodded slightly. Gaara wrapped his arm around her waist and the three hesitantly edged towards Voldemort. Harry twitched, but was prevented from moving by the ninjas and Mutants glaring at him. Hinata, the purple-eyed girl, said softly, "This is not your battle. That thing is struggling against a consciousness that he thought dead, and it is up to his closest family to help him."

Naruto jumped in, "Besides, he's got to meet his daughter's boyfriend sometime, and he doesn't have much longer." The wizards and witches stared at him, even Luna was baffled.

Shino finished the explanation. "Two minds fighting for control of one body is destructive both to the minds and the body. The possessor does not know this, but the father of those two is sure of it, and means to go through with it."

Marie said to Harry, "Besides, who cares about some old Prophecy? Nothing is bound, the future is open up to the very last moment before it becomes the present. Now hush!"

The group turned their eyes back to the trio, Gaara and John gently supporting Nach, whose eyes focused exclusively on Voldemort. He remained immobile, body frozen in the hardest fight of all: against the very being that he thought dead, Tom Marvolo Riddle. When the three drew closer, the nearest Death Eater tried to stand, but soon fell to a thrown knife from Ino, the blonde-haired female ninja. The other Eaters stopped fighting their weakness and stared desperately at their leader. The battlefield was silent, the fighters collectively holding their breaths in anticipation of Voldemort's death.

Voldemort suddenly reared up, a strange green light surrounding him. He roared, "You will not defeat me, weakling! I am Salazar Slytherin, and by all rights I own this body!"

He rocked back on his heels as another voice came from deep inside him, echoing out louder than his own. "I will not give up my body again. Be gone, Slytherin, I have found my light!" The green light flashed out, and Nach quickly threw up a shield, surrounding the green light and containing it. It seemed to fight against the shield, battering it harshly. Nach flinched, and Gaara held her tighter as John placed his hand on her back, channeling his excess energy into her. Naruto yelled out, "You can do it Sasha-chan!" The other ninjas soon joined in, cheering on their friend and encouraging her not to give up.

The green light flashed once more, then dissipated rapidly into nothingness. Voldemort's body slumped to the ground, and Nach's shield faded away. Gaara carried her to the body, and John rolled the body over. Those who could see it gasped, as Voldemort's snake eyes and pale skin was replaced by an old man's face, worn by age and stress. His face was tired, and his hair was graying, but brown strands could still be seen. His eyes flickered, and Nach knelt down and shook him gently, whispering, "Open your eyes. Please, please open your eyes."

The man's eyes opened with a struggle, and Harry and Ginny instantly recognized the piercing gaze as Tom Riddle's, only much older. The man blinked, and his eyes sought to focus on the three teens by him. His brow furrowed, and he said, "I know you."

Nach smiled, and John let out a breath that was half-sob, half-breath. Gaara grasped Nach's hand, and squeezed it tightly. The man's eyes flicked from face to face, landing on Gaara's. He muttered, "I don't know you."

Gaara smirked slightly. "I rather doubt you would," he said wryly. The man's face twitched, then returned to Nach's and John's. He gazed at them, then coughed painfully. Sakura stepped forward, but stopped when the man said slowly, "Do not bother, my time here is done." Nach jerked, then shook her head rapidly.

The man looked at her, then smiled. "You've grown," he croaked. "You were so small, I feared that you would not survive. Your mother was not worried, so I started to wonder what it would be like to raise children." He closed his eyes in pain. "I suppose I failed at being a father worse than my own did."

John shook his head. "Nah, at least you were there, for a time."

Tom Riddle smiled, then whispered, "Your mother?"

Nach smiled. "She's well. Went to America with us, then started a boarding house. It's one of the more successful ones. She raised us well, Daddy."

He nodded, then squinted at Gaara. "I'm sure this one's not mine." Looking past the three at the large group of teens huddled, staring at him, some apprehensively, he continued, "And I'm even more sure that all of those aren't mine either. I'd remember having that many, wouldn't I?" The group broke into strangled laughter, a few choked sobs littering the air as Harry stared at the wreck of a man in front of him.

Nach grinned. "Nah, these're Johnny's and my friends. And well, he's," glancing at Gaara, "he's my boyfriend. He wanted to meet you to ask permission to court me and all." Tom smiled back.

He rolled his head towards Gaara, who was fighting a blush, and said soberly, "I give you my permission," his eyes flicked to Gaara's clothes, and he continued, some shock in his eyes, "kazekage of the Sand village. I did not know that the ninjas had opened their doors to outsiders since Bridget left training to come back to England with me."

Gaara said calmly, "We didn't. Sasha let herself in." Tom laughed, then coughed, some blood flecking out of his mouth as he wheezed loudly.

Nach grabbed her father's hand. He squeezed it weakly, then sighed as he felt himself draining away. John's eyes filled up, and he took his other father's hand and whispered, "Bye Dad. Sleep well."

Tom smiled, a peaceful look coming over his face. "Thank you, my son. But, please, tell that Potter boy…" Harry glanced up, and Tom continued tiredly, "Tell him. Tell him that I'm sorry, and not to believe a word of that Prophecy rubbish. And don't blame Headmaster Dumbledore, he's doing the best he can…And, don't forget that there will always be people out there. You might not know them, or maybe you already do, but they care. Don't give in to the darkness. Please tell him that." John swallowed hard, and nodded.

Harry stepped forward, and knelt next to Tom Riddle, the old man's eyes turning to him, already dimming. He said, "I heard. And I forgive you." The old man smiled, then closed his eyes for the last time.

The battlefield was silent as Death Eaters felt the last remnants of their leader fade away, and the members of the Order stood in silence in respect for man who was one of the most powerful of his time. The silence was only broken by the soft sobs of Nach and John, who clung to their father's hands.

So ended the Final Battle, and Voldemort's reign of terror was finished.

So, that was it for now, and I hope y'all liked it!

I will write soon, so please review! And when you review, tell me what you thought of this chappie, and tell me whether I should bother to write about when Nach found out she was a Mutant, when she went back in time to the Marauders, and when she went to Konohagakure, when the ninjas live.

Write you soon!

Tam


	10. The End is Just the Beginning

Summary: HBP compatible. The gang is stuck after Dumbly's death, and McGonagall decides to call in some rather odd friends of Dumbledore.

It has been TWO YEARS since I last updated, and I am SO sorry! I got caught up with school, and then I lost interest in this story because of writer's block, but refused to publish anything else until I finished it, so it spiraled into a huge mass of resentment against this story. But today, I was flipping through some of my stories (aka procrastinating) and I looked over what I had written, and my fingers ITCHED! So I happily finished it, and Libaka edited it for me. (A million thanks for your patience!) It may not be the best thing ever produced, but I am happy with how I ended it. I probably won't write the rest of Nach's story, since I've lost interest (sorry!), but oh well! She had a good run!

Disclaimer: I don't own X-men, Harry Potter, or Naruto. If I owned Harry Potter, Snape would have lived and had a happy ending, Hermione and Ron would NEVER have married, and Remus would have lived. But I don't, and that's what happened. On to the story!

Old chapter:

Nach grabbed her father's hand. He squeezed it weakly, then sighed as he felt himself draining away. John's eyes filled up, and he took his other father's hand and whispered, "Bye Dad. Sleep well."

Tom smiled, a peaceful look coming over his face. "Thank you, my son. But, please, tell that Potter boy…" Harry glanced up, and Tom continued tiredly, "Tell him. Tell him that I'm sorry, and not to believe a word of that Prophecy rubbish. And don't blame Headmaster Dumbledore, he's doing the best he can…And, don't forget that there will always be people out there. You might not know them, or maybe you already do, but they care. Don't give in to the darkness. Please tell him that." John swallowed hard, and nodded.

Harry stepped forward, and knelt next to Tom Riddle, the old man's eyes turning to him, already dimming. He said, "I heard. And I forgive you." The old man smiled, then closed his eyes for the last time.

The battlefield was silent as Death Eaters felt the last remnants of their leader fade away, and the members of the Order stood in silence in respect for a man who was one of the most powerful of his time. The silence was only broken by the soft sobs of Nach and John, who clung to their father's hands.

So ended the Final Battle, and Voldemort's reign of terror was finished.

New Chapter: The End is Just the Beginning of a New Adventure

Things moved in a blur for the teenagers after that. The ninja returned home, cheerfully saying their goodbyes to the Hogwarts and Mutant students. Before Gaara left in a swirl of sand, he took Nach aside. Needless to say, he left a very red Nach behind.

Soon after the ninja's departure, Logan, Scott, Ororo, and Nightwalker returned to the school to look after the children there. Professor X stayed behind to help Professor McGonagall return the school to order. Marie and Bobby vacillated for some time, then decided to go home so that they could catch up on schoolwork and prepare themselves for teaching the next year.

To sum it up, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Draco, Blaise, Pansy, Neville, and Luna remained at Hogwarts with the professors and Nach and John, who oversaw their father's burial next to Dumbledore's grave, with the words "_He did great things-terrible, yes, but great."_ Harry had mentioned that Ollivander had said that once, and the twins had felt that it suited Tom Riddle as well as Voldemort.

Unfortunately, trials for the captured Death Eaters had begun, and Harry and the others were determined to attend each one. The only Death Eaters that Harry didn't want put away were Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape. Although both had served the light, the Ministry had decided to crack down on all the Death Eaters so that a renewal of Voldemort's army could never be done.

Nach had protested violently to this, but as she had no proof of her heritage in the Wizarding World, she could not legally object to the trials. Harry and the others were too young to object, and McGonagall had no evidence to prove either man's innocence. Nach and John hit the books, joined by Hermione and Blaise, to try to find a way to help Draco and Snape. John had to return home soon after, stating that he needed to tell their mother what had happened, and that their father was now at rest.

Fortunately, Snape and Draco were the last trial, so the group had time to research. It was at an earlier trial that they found their evidence.

At Bellatrix's trial, the group had sat silently, watching Bellatrix defiantly struggle against the chair's restraints and loudly proclaim her loyalty to the Dark Lord. When Bellatrix was quickly declared guilty of crimes against humanity and dragged from the court room, the audience stiffly stood from their seats and moved to the doors.

As Ron stretched, groaning slightly, he noticed the rest of his group moving off. He swore softly, then stepped out of his aisle and began to follow them to the large exit doors. He rolled his eyes when he saw Harry blush slightly when Pansy playfully teased him. She had decided she rather liked Harry as a person, and was trying to get him to ask her out as friends, then get to know each other better. Ron resisted rolling his eyes again as he eyed the rest of his friends. Ginny was trying to be sneaky about her crush on Draco, and Draco was bemusedly trying to get up the nerve to ask her to lunch through letters as soon as he was freed and declared innocent. Granted, it'd be lunch in the Hogwarts kitchens, but he was trying. Blaise and Hermione talked amiably, and Ron could tell they'd end up together. He'd realized that he didn't like Hermione the way he thought he had, then had quickly noticed how she smiled around Blaise. Luna was working on Neville, but the poor boy was too nervous to make a move.

Ron was slowly strolling up to the exit, contemplating what to get for lunch, when out of the corner of his eye he spotted a small figure sitting listlessly in one of the witness rows. He was about to continue on when he saw the person give a small shudder. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the common action of someone crying. He glanced around, looking for someone who knew the girl, but no one went to her to dry her tears. He patted his pockets, then found the tissues his mum had given him earlier that day.

"In case someone needs them," she'd said, and Ron shrugged and made his way over to the girl, not noticing that his friends had realized that he was not with them and were now looking for him frantically.

As he drew nearer to the girl, he recognized her as one of the girls in Ginny's year, another Gryffindor. He'd never talked to her, and had never taken a good look at her before. As he paused nervously, he noticed streaks of red in the girl's rich brown hair. He wondered idly if they were real, then, pulling out a tissue, offered one to her, saying in his gentlest manner, "Um, are you okay?"

The girl jumped, then stared up at him as if he'd just grown another head. She blinked, then took the offered tissue and blew her nose. She whispered, "Bellatrix killed my parents. They weren't Muggles, but I guess that didn't matter to her…" Her voice trailed off as tears began to stream once more from her eyes.

Ron hurriedly gave her the rest of the tissues, eliciting a strangled laugh from the girl. He stammered nervously, "You're in Ginny's year, right? I never did catch your name…oh! Do you have any place to stay? I mean, my mum would go mad if she knew you were on your own, and she'd be happy to help out, and…I'm not really helping am I?" He finished miserably.

The girl laughed, then smiled at him slightly. "It's alright. You're actually helping a little. Yeah, I'm in Ginny's year. I'm Ally Hargraves. I'm staying with my aunt, but she's my mum's sister, so she's Muggle. She doesn't know about the Wizarding world that much, so she's a little wary of me."

Ron scratched the back of his head uneasily, not sure how to help. He was rescued by Ally's stomach, which grumbled sullenly. Ally blushed, and Ron seized on the chance to ask her, "Oh, are you hungry? The rest of us were just going to eat at Hogwarts, if you want to come with us, you can." Ally agreed readily, and stood as the rest of the Hogwarts kids and Nach and John reached them.

Hermione yelped and said loudly, "Ally! What are you doing here?"

Ally stared at her and said in shock, "Mione? What are you doing here? I was here for the trials…but, you? Why?"

Ron glanced back and forth between the two girls. "You know each other?"

Hermione nodded. "We were in the same grade school. We weren't really close, but we got on well." Ally nodded in agreement.

Ally was introduced to each member of the group, and dragged along to Hogwarts, where she met Mrs. Weasley, who fussed over her and told her to send an owl over whenever she needed to talk. Ally agreed shyly, and was welcomed by the rest of the Weasley clan, who had met up at Hogwarts for a family lunch.

Charlie was still in Romania, but he sent an owl to his family with his regards. The twins regaled the rest of the table with stories of their experiments, and Bill and Fleur avidly discussed apartment prices with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They had gotten married soon after the last battle, with the only interruption when Percy burst through the door screaming "I object!" He apologized profusely to his family and to Harry, and was forgiven after it was revealed that he had been spying for some time for the Order in the Ministry. He'd allowed the wedding to go on after he had settled in between Fred (or George) and his mother, who was hugging him tightly.

Percy himself was sitting with McGonagall, discussing the Hogwarts budget, as well as the shortcomings of the Ministry.

The Hogwarts kids were discussing how to help Draco and Snape when Ally mentioned how the Ministry had used her memories as evidence. She jumped as Nach stood up and, slamming her fist on the table, shrieked, "That's it!" Unfortunately, she upset the table and overturned many bowls in her excitement.

After the Great Hall was put back into order, Nach explained herself. "We can use my memories! All the memories explaining Sev's actions and showing Draco's courage! They can be evidence for their innocence!" The Great Hall was filled with excited shouts of "Mine too!" and discussions of what to do to help their friends.

Three days later, Percy led the group of young men and women to the Wizengamot evidence room. He used all his pompousness and rank to force the clerk to let them in, and the group stormed into the room. An old man blinked at them from a desk, and Percy spoke gently to him, "Sir, we have evidence of Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy's innocence."

The old man blinked again, and then suddenly reached into his desk and pulled out a strange looking horn. Percy, sighed, recognizing it for what it was, and waited for the man to place the horn in his ear before repeating himself. He stated clearly, "Sir, we have evidence regarding Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy's innocence."

The man blinked rapidly and said loudly, "Well, why didn't you say so? All evidence is placed to me, and I will file it accordingly."

Percy shifted uncomfortably, "Sir, the evidence is memories."

The man looked at the crowd of children, and his eyes widened at the sight of Sasha. "Well bless my soul," he murmured, standing for a better look. "Why, you're the spitting image of Tom Riddle! Other than that you're female, and a lovely young woman of course," he finished hastily, Nach smiling slightly at him. "That boy treated me quite well! He was a year up, and he made sure I knew my Charms."

Percy said suddenly, "Did he ever show strange turns, when he would act differently than usual?"

The man shrugged, "Well, we all act strangely at points, but sometimes during tutoring he would look far away, as if a part of him was being pulled elsewhere." The man leaned forward eagerly, "And once, his very demeanor changed! But before it happened, he told me to leave. I didn't of course, I was a very curious lad, so I hid behind the door and I saw his eyes go red! Imagine that!"

The man smiled at the children, and blinked when they all looked interested rather than afraid. He said uncertainly, "Is there something wrong?"

Nach said hurriedly, "Oh no sir, thank you very much for telling us, but could we place our evidence and then we can explain our reactions?"

The man nodded hesitantly, and patiently reviewed the evidence with the group. He announced it all sound and pertinent to the accusations, and then sat Nach down for a long conversation. When he learned that the helpful upperclassman he had known had become Lord Voldemort, he looked faint. He protested, "No! Tom was the kindest person I ever met! I mean, sure, he had a thirst for knowledge, but don't we all? I was in Hufflepuff, and I never heard a harsh word against him!"

Nach said gently, "Father wasn't evil, he was possessed."

The man eyes widened. "Really?!" He pulled out parchment and a quill, explaining hastily, "My other job is a recorder of remarkable events, and this is unheard of! Do tell!" He blinked at Nach's hesitance and continued hastily, "Oh no! This isn't a public record, it's a personal hobby of mine. It will never be put in papers or anything of the sort! I just am fascinated by these things!" Nach relaxed and continued her explanation of Mutants and gifts, and told a story of a young boy who was so lonely that he wished for a companion, and friend, and accidentally summoned one of the Founders of Hogwarts, his ancestor. Said Founder possessed the boy, although he could not do it fully until the boy had come into his full magical powers. The boy managed to hold the powerful wizard off until his later years, when he became careless and lost hope that he would ever be freed of his hanger-on. The Founder never knew what occurred when the boy was dominant, only that the boy was powerful in his own right. Years after the Founder took over permanently, he tried to kill a baby. He failed when the baby's mother chose to die instead, and in so doing gave the baby a powerful protection: Love. Fourteen years later, the Founder managed to gain a body yet again, by using the blood of that very baby, who had grown into a boy. The Founder thought he knew love's power by then, but he was wrong. Love had long ago given the lonely child he possessed the strength to start his own family, and care for them until he could keep power over his mind no longer. The lonely boy's children lived, and their mother told them their father's tragic story. Two years after the Founder regained a body, the boy's children came back because they knew the world they had left needed them. They joined forces with their own friends, and the boy whose blood he had used, as well as that boy's friends. In a final battle, the boy's children met their father face-to-face, and fought against his possessor, so that he might be free. The possessor hurt the daughter, and her own powers expanded to protect everyone. In doing so, she temporarily unearthed her father's soul. He followed her friends through her mind, and remembered what he had lost. When brought back to his body, he decided to fight for the first time to control his body. The Founder believed he would win, but the boy, now a man and a father, knew that the Founder would lose. The man pushed the Founder's soul from the body, and his daughter trapped the soul that it could not jump to another body, and the man was truly free for the first time since he was a small boy. The man died in peace that day, knowing he had protected his children, and their friends.

Nach finished her story, and the man put down his quill and wiped his eyes. He whispered, "He was brave, to fight against Salazar Slytherin for so long. If only he had told someone, we may have been able to exorcise it."

Nach smiled sadly. "But he didn't, and he made his own choices. In the end though, he did the right thing."

The man nodded. "Now then!" He put the parchment gently inside his desk, finger's trailing over the words he had written, and he closed the drawer tightly. "That was beautiful, but I really should finish filing your evidence."

He took the bottles of memory from the desk, where they had been placed after being reviewed, and put them in a cabinet. He whispered an incantation and tapped his wand against the old wood. A glow emitted from his wand and covered the entire cabinet. It sank into the wood and faded, except for a faint glow around the handles of the cabinet. "Now no one can get them unless I allow it!" He smiled at the group, and ushered them out, shaking Nach's hand gently. "Take care, Miss Riddle."

The group left, and Ginny whispered, "That was beautiful Nach." She brushed a strand of hair back from her face absently. "I hated Tom for so long because of my first year, but now I feel better. He never did anything wrong, it was Slytherin." Nach smiled at her, and nodded.

Pansy spoke up, "Don't put all of us in his category though. Just because we're in Slytherin doesn't mean we'd do that." She wiped furiously at a tear that trickled down her cheek. "Possessing a poor boy like that! I'm not so sure I'm proud to be in Slytherin anymore." Harry took her hand carefully, jumping when she gripped his back.

Ron grinned crookedly, surprising everyone. "Sure you should be. After all, Tom Riddle was, and I'm sure it wasn't just because he was possessed. Snape was, and he turned out all right. There are probably loads of Slytherins who ended up doing great things for the Wizarding world."

Percy stated, "Who would've thought my brother would be saying something like that?" Ron blushed.

Luna spoke up dreamily, "Did you see the Floomys floating around in there? They love honest and good people. That's the only place in the Ministry I've ever seen them. Of course, it could be the dust." She frowned vaguely, "They like that too." Neville snorted behind her, and she turned. "Well, it seems most people who are honest and good end up being a little dusty, so I suppose it makes sense."

Neville coughed hurriedly and said, "Of course, Luna. What do Floomys look like?" Luna eagerly plunged into a description, and Neville listened carefully, wondering if he actually had seen the one hiding behind the lampshade, as well as the one perched on the desk. The others just smiled, and Percy sighed to himself. It was strange being an adult among younger people, he was never sure where they were coming from.

The last day of the trials came quickly, and Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy were placed in identical chained chairs. Severus looked impassive and Draco looked nervous. The crowd murmured amongst itself, unsure if either should even be there. Everyone fighting had seen the two on the side of the Light, but the Ministry refused to believe that this was enough.

The group from Hogwarts took up an entire four rows, consisting of the Hogwarts teachers, the Weasley's, Narcissa, and the others. Their faces showed their belief in Snape and Draco, and Mrs. Weasley clutched at Percy's hand, who quietly tried to reassure her.

The head of the Wizengamot pounded the gavel, and invited the holder of evidence to come up. The old man walked to the front of the room, nodding to the children, his arms filled with parchments and vials.

He placed each piece of evidence before the head, and returned to his seat. Severus' eyes lingered on the pile, and then shot to the group. They widened when each child grinned at him. He almost choked when Harry gave him a thumbs up.

The head said gravely, "The Wizengamot chooses to open the evidence, which has been kept under careful watch by our diligent Keeper of Evidence. All agreed?" The Wizengamot murmured its agreement, and the head reached for the first pile, that proclaiming the two guilty. He read evidence given from Death Eaters of how both Snape and Draco had joined, and how both had participated in meetings. There were very few pensieve memories, which were projected onto a screen for the Wizengamot and audience.

After angry murmurs died down after the revelation that Draco had tried to kill Dumbledore and Snape had succeeded, the head struck the gavel. "All evidence proclaiming the sentenced guilty has been viewed. Are we agreed to view the evidence proclaiming innocence?" The Wizengamot eyed the large pile and murmured assent.

Parchments were read of Snape's involvement in the Order of the Phoenix and of both of their help in the final battle. When it was revealed that Snape had dismantled the remaining Horcruxes, a loud outcry rose up. People fought to understand that Snape, a Death Eater, would have actively helped the Light side. The head pounded the gavel, and brought order back. After finishing the parchments, he turned to the memories carefully gathered by the group.

The audience and Wizengamot watched in silence as memories played across the screen of Snape healing Dumbledore of his wound from the ring, and of Dumbledore stating to Minerva McGonagall that Snape had never been loyal to Voldemort. People remembered that none of the evidence proclaiming him guilty had stated that he swore allegiance to Voldemort, only that he took the Mark willingly. The memory of Dumbledore's last night was played, where Draco lowered his wand and revealed that he had no choice, that they would hurt his family if he didn't kill Dumbledore. Finally, two memories were played. The moment when Snape swore that he would protect Draco flitted across the screen, and then was followed by Snape speaking to Dumbledore and begging him to kill him, so that Snape would not be forced to kill Dumbledore. The crowd gasped when Dumbledore refused, saying that Snape was worth more to the world than an old man. Dumbledore grasped Snape's shoulders and told him that the poison from the ring would kill him, so he would rather die by the hand of the man he saw as a son than by the cold poison of a curse. Snape was forced to swear that he would not end his own life, and that he would not give up.

After the Pensieve memories were through, the head placed the gavel gently on the table in front of him, his hands shaking. Dumbledore was willing to die so that these two might live. He believed in both of them, and he was right. Neither had turned to the Dark side, and both had fought as hard for the light as any other. He said quietly, "All for proclaiming them guilty?" Umbridge raised her hand and coughed when everyone glared at her. "All for innocent?" Every hand raised, Umbridge pulling hers down.

The head grasped the gavel with a firmer hand and brought it down. "Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy are proclaimed innocent of crimes to humanity and the murder of Albus Dumbledore!"

The crowd erupted in cheers, and the two were freed from their chains swiftly. Draco looked jubilant, and Severus looked stunned. He had been sure he would die, or worse, be brought to the Dementors.

Narcissa hugged her son tightly, crying into his shoulder, while Ginny patted them both on the back. Hermione cheered and hugged Blaise, who hugged her back while jumping up and down. Pansy threw her arms around Harry's neck and kissed his cheek, which went bright red as he hugged her back. Neville was carefully explaining to Luna that Snape and Draco were free, that was why everyone was cheering, not because there were Three-Fingered Loraxes in the room, whatever those were. Remus smiled at Severus and shook his hand. Severus blinked at him, still in shock. Minerva wandered over, and wiping her tears, told him that the Potions job was still open, as was the Defense Against the Dark Arts position if he wanted either, and that she was ever so relieved. Ron was high-fiving with Ally, who was jumping up and down happily, telling him that she knew they could do it, and wasn't this wonderful, and that she couldn't wait for the school year now! Percy was smiling, thanking the twins who pounded him on the back for a job well done. When they left, he surreptiously checked himself for any pranks, and was pleasantly surprised that there were none, before his mother hugged him and told him that she was ever so proud of him.

Snape carefully made his way out of the crowd, nodding to those who congratulated him and shook his hand, and found Nach leaning against the door, watching the mayhem quietly. She was patiently ignoring Rita Skeeter, who was trying to get an interview with anyone. The Keeper of Evidence gently distracted the woman, reminding her that Umbridge was still here, and that she could make an absolutely wonderful article on her, and even better, it would be _true_. Rita Skeeter rushed off, and the Keeper nodded to Nach as he carefully carried the evidence away to be stored in archives. Snape leaned next to Nach, and said softly, "Thank you."

Nach looked up at him slyly. "Don't bother. You hate being grateful, and I hate having to act like it was nothing, so let's not."

He grinned at her, and shrugged. "Are you going home, then?"

Nach raised an eyebrow. "Not necessarily."

Snape cocked his head. Nach continued easily, "Gaara asked me to come visit soon, and I don't want to have to take a teaching job at the school, since it's so noisy up here" she tapped her head, "so I think I'll go there for a bit."

Snape nodded. "And I suppose a certain proposal might be helping that decision?" Nach blushed and grinned at him.

"It might."

Snape turned his eyes to the crowd, allowing Nach to regain her composure, and then continued. "Now that I am free of all bonds, I would like to have the promise that you will visit me as well."

"Yes, of course. Going to take the teaching job?"

Snape smirked. "In a way."

Nach looked at him curiously. He continued. "Everyone expects me to take the Defense position, now that the curse is gone and I have the option. I'm thinking I might surprise them all by retaining the Potions position. The werewolf can have the Defense post. I don't think I need it anymore." Nach smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

Snape squeezed back. "I also will be taking on Miss Granger as an apprentice, if she'll do it. I don't have to play favorites anymore."

Nach said, "I'm sure she will be glad to."

Snape opened his mouth to respond, when she patted his hand and said, "But that's another story, isn't it?" and walked down the hall. He watched her swiftly teleport to her next adventure and nodded, thinking to himself, 'I do suppose it is.'

FIN

It's over! It only took me nearly four years to do so! I have more stories to write, which I will do my best to put up.....

Please review! I would love to know what you thought!

All the best,

Tam


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